Nova Scotia Service Dog Act to be proclaimed

There is growing diversity in the types of service dogs providing support Nova Scotians. Service dogs are specially trained to assist individuals with everyday activities.

The act has established a registrar responsible for overseeing applications, certification and visual identification for service dog teams. The identification will help people and businesses determine which service dog users qualify for rights protection.

The act also outlines penalties for denying rights and for falsely representing a dog as being a member of a service dog team. Emphasis will be put on education, awareness and warnings in the early stages of the act.

To obtain a certificate to access rights under the Service Dog Act, service dog users can get an application from the website or by contacting the Service Dog Program Office. Some dogs may need to be tested to ensure they meet the required standards.

Certified teams will be issued provincial identification cards, which will provide a consistent way to verify that a dog is certified and meets a high standard of training and behaviour. Provincial identification cards will be provided free of charge.

A public awareness and education campaign has also been launched to help Nova Scotians better understand the work service dogs do and how to properly interact with a service dog team.