Service Puppies
July 22, 2020
It appears that even service puppies can’t escape the changes of the pandemic. Bill Thornton, the CEO of BC & Alberta Guide Dogs, says the new recruits are far behind on their transit training schedule because of COVID-19.
The puppies are usually introduced to buses in the field and gradually trained, however that method has been suspended during the pandemic.
TransLink, Metro Vancouver’s transit operator, opened its doors at the Vancouver Training Centre on Wednesday, allowing the dogs-in-training to get repeatedly familiar with several buses.
Thornton says they’re happy to be able to speed up the training with its partnership with TransLink.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2020.