Matt W. Says:
How does Costa Rica feel about service dogs?
IL Costa Rica Correspondent Bekah Bottone Says:
Hi Matt,
Service dogs are not common in Costa Rica. On the beach, you see regular dogs everywhere, as practically everything is open air. And when you do enter a building, such as a supermarket, it’s common to see dogs waiting outside for their owners. But a service dog accompanying their owner inside is not something I’ve seen.
But just because it’s not common, doesn’t mean it’s not possible. In fact, Costa Rican law provides provision for service dogs under certain circumstances.
Until 2008, a seeing-eye dog was the only animal written up in legislation concerning disabilities. Then in 2008, Law 8661 was written and stated that, “assistance must be offered through humans or animals or intermediaries, such as sign language professionals, guides or readers, to facilitate access to public places.”
This created a broader term than the previous perro guía (or seeing-eye dog in Spanish), expanding the use of animal assistance for people not only with visual disabilities but also those with diabetes, epilepsy, and PTSD.
In addition, Law 7600 allows service animals and their owners to use public transportation. Section 45 of Law 7600 says that, “people with disabilities who use service dogs or other service animals, as well as equipment for their mobility, shall have equal and free access to public transportation as well as access to any building structure regardless of whether it is public or private, without causing any additional costs to them.”
Traveling with a copy of your certificates showing that you have completed and passed the service training is always a good idea.
There are certain requirements for importing dogs into the country in general, which can be found here.
I hope you’ve found this helpful. And don’t forget that you can get first-hand experience of Costa Rica when you join me and the rest of our IL team at the Fast Track Costa Rica Conference taking place June 23-25 in San José. Get more details, and book your spot, here.
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