Service Dogs Atlantic

critical dis/Ability studies, occupational therapy, veterans services, psychotherapy, and non-profit community outreach. We strive to maintain an inclusive culture at SDA, upholding animal sentience; and what we can now understand of canine consent. Our Core Values Acronym: C-A-N-I-N-E
(Connection - Advocacy - Navigation - Innovation - Nurturance - Education)
•Connections are defined by the principles of the human-(other) animal bond within human-(other) animal interactions.
• Advocacy provided for human-dog teams is aimed to legitimize and is marked by improved independence for human-dog teams.
• Nurturance to animals is upheld by the 5 Freedoms, using a One Health perspective, honouring the notion of sentience and consent from the canine partner/co-worker.
• Innovations from academia inform decisions, especially within science-based training practices where
no force is used within positive team training.
• Navigation is streamlined for easy access to relevant information through our various portals.
• Education offered to public and private entities is done so to ensure a healthy community for all
humans and animals, working teams or not. Our Guiding Principles Acronym: H-A * B-O-N-D (as in, Human-/other Animal Bond)
(Heed - Assent - Balance - Offer - Narrow - Define)
• Heed the human-canine interactions landscape within the Atlantic provinces.
• Assent information through engaging with the community to provide up-to-date practices and policies
education.
• Balance advocacy through a critical lens around discrimination, speciesism, ableism, and intersectionality
(to name a few).
• Operate with a clear plan to make sense of the rights and regulations related to human-dog teams in
various contexts. Offer safeguards for training and (re)certification practices.
• Narrow pathways to provide clear identification of teams to halt the fraudulent use of fake
service/working-dog uniforms and products.
• Define the nature of collaborative work within the greater community.