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Part II .

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Service Dogs Regulations

made under

Section 19 of the

Service Dog Act

S.N.S. 2016, c. 4

O.I.C. 2018-165 (effective June 27, 2018), N.S. Reg. 94/2018

Table of Contents

Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.

Click here to go to the text of the regulations .

Citation

Definitions

Form of certificate and identification card

Identification cards

Secondary handlers for service dog teams

Issuing and Renewing Certificates

Term of certificates

Training requirements for service dog team certificate

Persons or organizations designated to perform service dog assessments

Reassessment of service dog team required by Registrar

Service dog team certificate application

Renewing service dog team certificate

Dog-in-training team certificate application

Dog-in-training removed from service dog training program

Dog trainer no longer training dogs for accredited training school

Retired service dog team certificate application

Retired service dog dies or no longer resides with certificate holder

Temporary certificates

Replacing lost, stolen or damaged certificate

Cancelling or Refusing to Renew Certificates

Change in contact information

Registrar must be notified of changes to service dog team

Registrar must be notified if dog attacks, bites or injures person or animal

Cancellation of certificate if service dog acts in threatening manner

False or misleading information in application

Notice of intention to cancel certificate

Citation

1 These regulations may be cited as the Service Dogs Regulations .

Definitions

2 In the Act and these regulations,

“accredited training school” means an organization that provides training programs

respecting service dogs and is accredited by, or has candidacy status with, 1 of the

following organizations:

(

i) Assistance Dogs International,

(ii) International Guide Dog Federation;

“Act” means the Service Dog Act ;

“application” means an application for a certificate or renewal of a certificate;

“day” means a calendar day;

“designated organization” means an entity designated by the Register to perform a

service dog assessment;

“medical practitioner” means an authorized medical practitioner as defined in the

Medical Act , or an individual that the Registrar is satisfied is authorized to practise

medicine under an enactment of a jurisdiction of Canada, other than the Province,

or a jurisdiction of the United States of America in a capacity that is at least

equivalent to that of a medical practitioner in the Province;

“nurse practitioner” means an authorized nurse practitioner as defined in the

Registered Nurses Act , or an individual that the Registrar is satisfied is authorized

to practise nursing under an enactment of a jurisdiction of Canada, other than the

Province, or a jurisdiction of the United States of America in a capacity that is at

least equivalent to that of a nurse practitioner in the Province;

“retired service dog team certificate” means a certificate issued for a retired service

dog team;

“secondary handler” means a parent or legal guardian of the human member who

is their primary support for day-to-day living and may require access to public

places with the service dog when the human member is not present;

“service dog assessment” means an assessment to determine whether an individual

and dog meet the conditions, qualifications and requirements necessary to be

issued a certificate as a service dog team in accordance with

Section 8;

“service dog team certificate” means a certificate issued for a service dog team;

“veterinarian” means an individual who is authorized under the Veterinary Medical

Act to practise veterinary medicine in the Province or an individual that the

Registrar is satisfied is authorized to practise veterinary medicine under an

enactment of a jurisdiction of Canada, other than the Province, or a jurisdiction of

the United States of America in a capacity that is at least equivalent to that of a

veterinarian authorized under the Veterinary Medical Act to practise veterinary

medicine.

Form of certificate and identification card

3 A certificate may be combined with an identification card and issued in the same form.

Identification cards

4 An individual who is issued an identification card must carry and produce the

identification card on request.

Secondary handlers for service dog teams

(1) A service dog team certificate may designate a secondary handler who may access

public places with the dog member of the service dog team.

(2) A secondary handler must comply with all duties and requirements, including any

required training, that a human member must comply with under the Act and these

regulations.

(3) Despite subsection (2), the Registrar may require only 1 of the human member and

secondary handler to comply with the requirements to provide notice in Sections

16, 20 and 21.

(4) A secondary handler must be issued an identification card identifying the

individual as a secondary handler for a specified service dog team.

Issuing and Renewing Certificates

Term of certificates

(1) The term of a certificate is as set out in the following table:

Certificate

Term

service dog team

2 years

dog trainer

2 years

dog-in-training

2 years

retired service dog team

expires on death of dog

(2) When a retired service dog dies, the retired service dog team certificate must be

returned to the Registrar.

Training requirements for service dog team certificate

(1) The Registrar may not issue a service dog team certificate unless all of the

following conditions are met:

(

a) the individual and the dog identified in the application have together

successfully completed 1 of the following in accordance with the deadlines

specified in subsection (2):

(

i) a service dog training program provided by an accredited training

school,

(ii) a service dog assessment;

(

b) the dog has been spayed or neutered by a veterinarian.

(2) For the purposes of clause (1)(a),

(

a) the service dog training program required by subclause (1)(a)(

i) must be

completed no earlier than 90 days before the date the application is received

by the Registrar; and

(

b) the service dog assessment required by subclause (1)(a)(ii) must be completed

no later than 90 days after the date the application is received by the Registrar.

(3) Despite subclause 7(1)(a)(i), the Registrar may issue a service dog team certificate

to an applicant who does not reside in the Province if the individual and the dog

identified in the application have received training acceptable to the Registrar.

Persons or organizations designated to perform service dog assessments

(1) A service dog assessment must be performed by 1 of the following:

(

a) a designated organization;

(

b) a person designated by the Registrar.

(2) The Registrar may designate an organization or person to perform service dog

assessments.

(3) The Registrar may revoke a designation made under subsection (2) by notice in

writing to the organization or person.

Reassessment of service dog team required by Registrar

9 On receiving written notice from the Registrar, the human member of a service dog team

must successfully complete 1 of the following within the time specified by the Registrar:

(

a) an assessment administered by an accredited training school;

(

b) a service dog assessment.

Service dog team certificate application

10 All of the following is prescribed as the information and documents to be included under

clause 6(2)(

b) of the Act in an application for a service dog team certificate:

(

a) the applicant’s full legal name, date of birth, address, telephone number and e-mail address;

(

b) for any secondary handler to be designated in the certificate, their full legal

name, date of birth, address, telephone number and e-mail address;

(

c) the dog’s breed, sex, colour, identifying marks and name;

(

d) a colour photograph in portrait format that clearly depicts both the applicant

and the dog taken no earlier than 3 months before the date of the application;

(

e) for an applicant who has completed a service dog training program provided

by an accredited training school, written confirmation from the school that the

applicant and dog have successfully completed the training program, and the

date the program was completed;

(

f) for an applicant who is required to complete a service dog assessment,

(

i) written confirmation from a medical practitioner or a nurse practitioner

that the applicant is a person with a disability,

(ii) written confirmation from a veterinarian that the dog has been spayed or

neutered,

(iii) written confirmation from the designated organization or person that

performed the assessment that the applicant and dog have successfully

completed the assessment, to be submitted no later than 90 days after

the date the application is received by the Registrar;

(

g) any information or documents that the Registrar considers necessary to assess

whether the applicant and dog satisfy all of the conditions, qualifications and

requirements in the Act and these regulations.

Renewing service dog team certificate

(1) All of the following is prescribed as the information and documents to be included

under clause 6(2)(

b) of the Act in an application for renewing a service dog team

certificate:

(

a) all of the information required by

Section 10, except for clause 10(f);

(

b) written confirmation from a designated organization or person that the

applicant and dog have successfully completed the service dog assessment

required by subsection (2).

(2) No later than 90 days before applying to renew a service dog team certificate, an

applicant must complete a service dog assessment.

Dog-in-training team certificate application

(1) The Registrar must not issue or renew a dog-in-training team certificate unless all

of the following criteria are met:

(

a) the applicant is an authorized representative of an accredited training school;

(

b) the dog is being trained, or will be trained, by a dog trainer on behalf of the

accredited training school for the purpose of becoming a service dog.

(2) All of the following is prescribed as the information and documents to be included

under clause 6(2)(

b) of the Act in an application for the issuance or renewal of a

dog-in-training team certificate:

(

a) the applicant’s full legal name, date of birth, address, telephone number and e-mail address;

(

b) a colour photograph in portrait format that clearly depicts both the applicant

and the dog taken no earlier than 3 months before the date of the application;

(

c) the dog-in-training’s breed, sex, colour, identifying marks and name;

(

d) written confirmation from the accredited training school that the dog-in-training meets the requirement in clause (1)(b);

(

e) the name of each dog trainer who will be responsible for training the dog-in-training;

(

f) written confirmation from the accredited training school that the applicant has

a valid service dog training accreditation for the purpose of training service

dogs.

Dog-in-training removed from service dog training program

(1) No later than 30 days after a dog-in-training is permanently or indefinitely removed

from the service dog training program of the accredited training school stated in

the dog-in-training team certificate application for the dog, the dog’s dog trainer

must notify the Registrar of the dog’s removal from the program.

(2) The Registrar may cancel a dog-in-training team certificate if the Registrar is

satisfied that the dog identified in the certificate is permanently or indefinitely

removed from the service dog training program of the accredited training school

stated in the application for the certificate.

Dog trainer no longer training dogs for accredited training school

(1) A dog trainer who no longer trains dogs for the accredited training school stated in

the application for their certificate must notify the Registrar of this fact no later

than 30 days after the date they cease to train dogs for the accredited training

school.

(2) The Registrar must cancel a dog trainer certificate if the Registrar is satisfied that

the dog trainer no longer trains dogs on behalf of the accredited training school

stated in the application for their certificate.

Retired service dog team certificate application

15 All of the following is prescribed as the information and documents to be included under

clause 6(2)(

b) of the Act in an application for a retired service dog team certificate:

(

a) a colour photograph in portrait format that clearly depicts both the applicant

and the dog taken no earlier than 3 months before the date of the application;

(b) 1 of the following certificates:

(

i) the service dog team certificate issued to the applicant,

(ii) a certification for the applicant and dog to act as a team that was issued

by an accredited training school either before or after the coming into

force of the Act or these regulations.

Retired service dog dies or no longer resides with certificate holder

16 The human member of a retired service dog team must notify the Registrar [of] any of the

following no later than 30 days after it occurs:

(

a) the dog identified in a retired service dog certificate dies;

(

b) the dog identified in a retired service dog certificate no longer resides with the

certificate holder.

Temporary certificates

(1) The Registrar may issue a temporary certificate to an individual and a dog that hold

valid certification in a jurisdiction outside the Province if all of the following

conditions are met:

(

a) the individual and dog need to enter the Province for a specified period of

time;

(

b) the requirements and training in the jurisdiction in which the individual and

dog hold certification are considered by the Registrar to be at least equivalent

to those required by the Act and these regulations.

(2) A temporary certificate must state the time period for which it is valid.

Replacing lost, stolen or damaged certificate

18 The human member of a service dog team or retired service dog team or a dog trainer

may apply to the Registrar to replace a lost, stolen or damaged certificate, in the form and

manner required by the Registrar.

Cancelling or Refusing to Renew Certificates

Change in contact information

19 A certificate holder must notify the Registrar of any change in the certificate holder’s

name or mailing address no later than 30 days after the date of the change.

Registrar must be notified of changes to service dog team

20 The human member of a service dog team must notify the Registrar of any of the

following no later than 30 days after the date it occurs:

(

a) the dog identified in the certificate retires, dies, becomes permanently disabled

or is otherwise unable to perform the functions of a service dog;

(

b) the individual or the dog identified in the certificate ceases to meet any of the

conditions, qualifications or requirements of the Act or these regulations;

(

c) the human member of the service dog team no longer requires the assistance

of a service dog.

Registrar must be notified if dog attacks, bites or injures person or animal

21 No later than 5 days after the date it occurs, the human member of a service dog team

must notify the Registrar of any incident in which the dog member of the team attacks,

bites or injures a person or animal.

Cancellation of certificate if service dog acts in threatening manner

22 The Registrar may cancel or refuse to renew a certificate if the Registrar is satisfied that

the dog identified in the certificate acted or behaved in a manner that threatened the safety

of a person or animal.

False or misleading information in application

23 The Registrar may cancel or refuse to renew a certificate if the Registrar is satisfied that

the certificate holder’s application contains false or misleading information.

Notice of intention to cancel certificate

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), before cancelling a certificate, the Registrar

must notify the certificate holder in writing that the Registrar intends to cancel their

certificate.

(2) The Registrar is not required to send notice under subsection (1) in either of the

following circumstances:

(

a) the Registrar has reasonable grounds to believe that the service dog or dog-in-training identified in the certificate poses a risk to the safety of persons or

other animals;

(

b) the certificate holder has not complied with the change in contact information

requirement in

Section 19.

Legislative History

Reference Tables

Service Dogs Regulations

N.S.

Reg.

94/2018

Service Dog Act

Note: The information in these tables does not form part of the regulations

and is compiled by the Office of the Registrar of Regulations for reference

only.

Source Law

The current

consolidation of the Service Dogs Regulations made under the Service

Dog Act includes all of the following

regulations:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

94/2018

Jun 27, 2018

date specified

Jun 22, 2018

The following regulations are not yet in

force and are not included in the current consolidation:

N.S.

Regulation

In force

date*

How in force

Royal Gazette

Part II Issue

*See subsection 3(6) of the Regulations

Act for rules about in force dates of regulations.

Amendments by

Provision

ad. = added

am. = amended

fc. = fee change

ra. = reassigned

rep. = repealed

rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

..........................................................

Note that changes to headings

are not included in the above table.

Editorial Notes and Corrections:

Note

Effective

date

Repealed and Superseded:

N.S.

Regulation

Title

In force

date

Repealed

date

Note: Only regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced appear in

this table. It may not reflect the

entire history of regulations on this subject matter.