Frequently Asked Question

Who and What is Smokey's Assistance Dogs Foundation?

A Service /Assistance Dog Training Program in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. For contact information please go to our Contract Page

What is a Service and or Assistance Dog?

A specially trained dog who becomes your arms, legs and even your ears, they help with everyday tasks like
- picking up dropped items: such as pen, pencils, money, paper, and many other things
-Open and close: doors, cupboards, bags, and other things like that
-Alerting to: A Seizure, a baby or child crying, a timer going off, a phone ringing, someone at the door, alerts a care giver that a person is up and moving, and other things like that.
- Balancing, Bracing steadying you, Bracee you when falling or getting up
- Stops a child and or adult from: boltinng out into traffic, prevent a person from being in harms way.
- Aid in: turning on and off lights, pullling up covers, taking off shoes and socks, building self esteem, calming, comforting, helps one feel safe, non judging, becoming the best friend and the extension of that person or child and a whole lot more.

Are Service/Assistance Dogs protected under the law?

No Service/Assistance Dog and not protected under Canadian Law.
Their is a change in the works and we hope that soon it will make it to the law stage.

Some believe that by listing their dogs as Dog Guides they can skirt the law. This does not change the law it only passes the buck to others. 

Some think that Human Rights will protect you but some have found that has not been any help either. We need a law that has some tooth which is fair but tough in order not only to protect a working team but the public as well so that not everyone who wants to take there dog out in public with them can.

What can I do to help change the law?

Write your Member of Parliament

Where do we get our dogs?

It is our hope to be able to use as many rescue dogs as we can. Rescue dog some of which have been returned to a breeder, dogs which have been sprung from shelter, and in some cases puppy mills which have been raided.
However we have breed our first litter in December of 2001. We are also looking in to a quite new breed which is suppose to be allergy friendly this breed is called Labradoodle
There is always demand for smaller dogs. If you are looking for a pet, please check out our rescues page to find your new best friend. There are allot of great dogs out there living in the wrong home.

Why are we doing this?

I was at the lowest stage in my life, after being told to get use to it, it is only going to get worst. I did not want to have an aid or any other helper in my home this would be too much for me to take.
I started looking into what other options I had and I came across something on service dogs this idea so I stated my research and got and from there I trained under the most wonderful people who came into my life and where more than willing to help us learn what we needed.
I came back to Edmonton Alberta in the summer of 96 and was met with the very real problem of now after two yrs of never being apart Smokey could not come with me. First, because their was no law here in Alberta to allow me to take in public with me Second, as I called around to see where I could and could not go I was faced with the fact that no one knew what I was talking about. So have doing allot of research to find out that in Canada there is NO law anywhere in Canada. So I was told that the best way to change this was to start my own school and now I am truly blessed because I now can help other live there life's to the fullest.

How do you get a Service/Assistance Dog?

If you or someone you know would like to look at getting an Assistance dog, you first need to fill out our Application Form. The wait can be as long as two year because of the training time.

Who pays for the dog?

Smokey's Assistance Dogs Foundation covers all the training cost of each dog we train. It is our responsible for getting the funding in place to cover the two yrs of training and veterinary Care. This is done though fund rising and donation. We will never turn down any help in raising the money to cover the cost.

What are my costs?

We only ask that our clients pay a non-refundable admin. Fee of $150.00 and for all the equipment needed for the working life of the dog. $300.00. The biggest expense of our clients is the stay at our school or the expenses for one of the trainers to come to them. It is our plan to have a dorm attached to the kennel so that we can cut this cost for our clients. The hand over time is three weeks and in the case of children one of the trainer will come home and attend school the first week as to insure a safe and smooth transaction for everyone

What are some of Smokey's Assistance Dogs Foundation Policy's?

All dogs that go though our school must pass the Canine Good Citizen test. (This test checks the dog in abilities to handle themselves in crowd and around other dogs and people in nursing homes hospital and other facility like that This test is presently be used by St. John's Ambulance Pet therapy programs, if the dog can not pass this test it is not consent for this program)
The other test that all my dogs will have to pass is the Temperament test. This test has been set-up to check the temperament of the dog, It start out slowly and each new obstacle gets more stressful and the dog is watched to see how they handle each event. The dogs will be checked for hip and eyes for problems. This will show that all the training and job that the dog is slated for will not in any way harm the dog. We have put into Our Policies Procedure that we will help Individual train their own dogs providing that they meet all our Standards for Temperament, and Medical screening. Service Dog change your life and brings you out of your shell These dogs open up a whole new world and are the greatest way to break down all the barriers.
Given Parents and Caregivers a greater peace of mind Children and dogs are the greatest working team and our hope for the future of acceptance and understanding. It is our hope that this site will help all who visit here.

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Copyright 2000

Smokey's Assistance Dogs Foundation

All Rights Reserved

Revised: June 26, 2005