WINNIPEG — The Manitoba Human Rights Commission is investigating a complaint about a woman with Alzheimer's being told by her condominium board that she can no longer keep her specially trained dog.
Donna Davidson's son Murray says he trained the Sheltie named Kaos to lead his mother to and from her husband's care home.
Murray Davidson says the dog has been registered with Service Dogs of Canada along with a doctor's note stating the necessity of his mother having the animal.
The condo board says they have a strict no-pets policy and don't believe Kaos is a legitimate service dog.
Board chairman Bruce Macfarlane says if the dog met Assistance Dogs International’s standards, it would welcome the animal.
The human rights commission says for an animal to be considered a service dog, it must be trained to assist a person with a disability, and the work performed by the dog must be directly related to its owner's physical or mental disability.
But they do not have to be accredited by any specific organization.
"In Manitoba, there's no regulated scheme to identify and certify service animals," says commission executive director Isha Khan. "Some provinces have gone that route, but Manitoba has not."
Murray Davidson says the animal is crucial to his mother's safety.
"I just feel better knowing that if she's out anywhere, the dog knows how to get home, and she will always get home," he says.
Certified master trainer George Leonard says national standards would eliminate some of the confusion over which animals truly qualify as service dogs.
"It is coming," says Leonard. "I think it's definitely needed."
