Much Ado About Service Dogs

​A service dog is a specially trained dog who provides assistance to a person with a disability. Think of these dogs as the equivalent of a wheelchair or an oxygen machine, imperative for their handler but should be mostly ignored by everyone else.
Where are they allowed? Pretty much everywhere. With a couple exceptions (kitchens or surgical rooms) they have total access to any public space including restaurants, medical clinics, and even airplanes. Remember they are medical equipment, nobody just leaves their pacemaker at home.
How can you tell? I'm glad you asked! Alberta is special in the way that we have a provincial test to certify service dogs which makes it really easy for businesses to know. Each team is then given an ID card which is government issued and individual to the team. NOTE there are fake registries for certifying pets that are not trained for work, these are not valid and you should not accept anything that isn't government issued, or these pets can present real dangers to the public.
What is required? First of all the handler must be permanently disabled. This includes physical disabilities, like epilepsy or being wheelchair bound, and psychological disabilities such as severe anxiety or PTSD. A doctor must sign a form indicating a dog would be helpful for your circumstances. Next the dog must be checked by a vet to ascertain they are fit for duty. Training is done in a couple ways, either by a program or the owner can train the dog. Once a dog is trained they are tested by a master service dog trainer to ensure they are up to standard, and then they are a full service animal!
If you own a business you are encouraged to ask teams you meet, 1. Is this a service animal? 2. Do you have Alberta government ID? If it's a no to either access can be denied. If any animal INCLUDING certified service animals, is behaving poorly in your business (harassing people, making excess noise, disturbing product, etc.) you are legally allowed to ask the team to leave.
Otherwise if you see a service dog in public please ignore them so they can do their job. No touch, no talk, no eye contact, no noises. You can smile to the owner but otherwise leave them be. They're there for a reason and they know they're adorable.