B.C. service puppies put through transit paces after pandemic delay

All paws on deck!

Canadian Press Jul 22, 2020 1:57 PM

vcrd10173030 — Hope, a trainee service dog, sits with her volunteer Shelly Nash while riding a transit bus during a training exercise at the 麻豆传媒映画Transit Centre bus depot, in Vancouver, on Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Approximately two dozen dogs participated in training exercises on different types of buses as part of a one-day training program organized by B.C. & Alberta Guide Dogs and Translink, to accelerate training that has fallen behind due to COVID-19. Volunteers who help raise and train the dogs from seven-weeks-old to 15-months have been limited in the amount of public training they can do due to the coronavirus pandemic. The dogs that go through training later become paired with veterans or first responders dealing with PTSD, children who have autism, guides for the blind or enter the charity's breeding program. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — 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 麻豆传媒映画Training Centre on Wednesday, allowing the dogs-in-training to get repeatedly familiar with several buses.

As part of the dog's graduation process, trainers need to know if they will behave on several styles of buses and that they can get on and off easily.

Thornton says they're happy to be able to speed up the training with its partnership with TransLink.

There’s a different type of training going on at 麻豆传媒映画Transit Centre today - we’re helping to fast track Guide and Service Dog transit training which has fallen behind due to COVID-19 馃惗馃殠
— Ben Murphy (@BenBMurph)