The demand for people who require a service dog is high.

So high in fact, that the province has awarded grant money and designated five new dog training facilities in the province that can provide service dogs to those who need them.

Dawn MacDonald it the Owner and Operator of Red Dog Training Solutions, one of the dog training facilities who are now qualified.

She says this is great for owner trained service dogs that will now be recognized under the Service Dog Act.

“In the past, owner trained dogs that haven’t been protected, it creates a lot of stress and anxiety for someone who already suffers from stress and anxiety, to go into a public establishment and worry about whether or not they are going to be asked to leave. The government now has recognized that owned trained dogs should have the ability and the right to be tested, to make sure that they too can participate in being out in public places.”

The Service Dog Qualifications Regulation came into effect in April of this year, and lays out the provincial standard allowing more schools to train qualified dogs. 

250 thousand was awarded in grant money to support qualified organizations with training, testing, and providing service dogs, as well as helping individuals who want to ensure their self-trained dogs meet Alberta’s new standard.