Eligibility

Eligibility criteria for individuals

To be eligible for the program, you must:

  • Hold a valid health insurance card (RAMQ)
  • Have a permanent physical impairment resulting in significant and persistent disability 
  • Already have a mobility assistance dog from a specialized training school
  • Know the applicable laws and regulations and what behaviour is acceptable in public with your mobility assistance dog
  • Know how to maintain and take care of your dog’s health
  • Be able to take care of your dog with or without technical or human help
  • Be able to use your mobility assistance dog in an autonomous and efficient manner, respecting program requirements

For the request to be accepted, there must be a real day-to-day and necessary need for assistance due to a physical disability. This need must not be already compensated by other means.

The following people are not eligible for the program:

  • Those who are already being reimbursed for the same type of assistance from another organization or as part of a provincial or federal program, such as:
    • The Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ)
    • The Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST)
    • The Programme d’indemnisation des victimes d'actes criminels (IVAC)
  • Those who live in a residential and long-term care centre or in an intermediate resource

Eligibility criteria for mobility assistance dogs

To be eligible for the program, mobility assistance dogs must:

  • Respond in a consistent and sustained manner to commands both at home and in public places
  • Meet the requirements for mobility assistance dogs both at home and in public places:
    • Be clean, groomed and have no bad odour
    • Not seek attention from people
    • Not interrupt people’s daily activities
    • Not bark, growl or snarl unnecessarily
    • Remain calm when meeting people and other animals
    • Not claim or steal food or other items
    • Work calmly and quietly with the help of a harness, leash or other command item
    • Be able to lie down and stay quiet near its master without blocking paths, entrances, etc.
    • Urinate or defecate on command in appropriate places
    • Always stay within 24 inches (or 60 centimetres) of its master; the dog can be farther if a task requires it
  • Have an ID card, that includes its photo and its master's name, issued by a specialized training school accredited by Assistance Dogs International (ADI) or the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF)
  • Be sterilized and vaccinated. The vaccination certificate must be updated and signed by a veterinarian during a mandatory visit at least once a year
  • Wear a distinctive sign, such as a scarf, a harness or other item, when circulating in public places. This allows people to easily and clearly recognize that it is a mobility assistance dog
  • Obey basic commands, such as “sit,” “down,” “stay,” “heel” and “come”
  • Be trained to compensate for its master’s disabilities