US Supreme Court and Wonder, the Goldendoodle

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

Among their plethora of talents, Doodles can be trained as service dogs, and can even attract the attention of the US Supreme Court!

http://slingstone.zenfs.com/offnetwork/21f01d6dcce4aa5877435bd1c9c2..." class="Bgc-x D-b Mb-20 Maw-100 ImageLoader-Loaded" width="640" height="336" alt="" id="yui_3_18_0_5_1467150434083_4651"/>The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will consider the case of a 12-year-old Jackson, Mich., girl with cerebral palsy and a goldendoodle named Wonder, deciding whether Ehlena Fry’s family can sue for damages from a school district that balked at the service dog’s presence in the classroom

[Amy and Annabelle]

I heard about this, Jackson isn't too far from me. They should let her have her dog.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I couldn't make the link work :-{  so that I could read the situation for myself.

[Amy and Annabelle]

Maybe this one will work for you.

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2016/06/girl_banned_fro...

[Amy and Annabelle]

I know there are kids that have allergies to dogs, so that would probably be the only reason it would be denied.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thank you, Amy. As a retired special Ed teacher I would really like to hear the school's point of view. On the surface, it makes no sense not to allow the dog access to the school. When I get back to my computer I am going to research this more fully.

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

Sorry the link didn't work Nancy.  It was from the Detroit Free Press. The actual issue before the Supreme Court is a procedural one, regarding whether or not the plaintiffs had to exhaust administrative remedies before suing the school district. The material that I read did not explain why the school district refused to allow Wonder to accompany the little girl to class, except to say that an aide could provide adequate assistance.   Apparently after initially prohibiting the dog from entering the school, the district did allow him to attend temporarily, but under such restrictive conditions that I doubt the dog was able to perform the required tasks.  I was particularly interested in the use of the doodle as a service dog in school because we had such difficulty obtaining permission for my daughter to bring her certified service dog, Ellie, with her to middle and high school.  The reasons cited by the schools was the potential for disruption and allergic reactions of other students. Since my daughter's dog was a lab, allergies were a possible problem.  A doodle who is actually non-allergenic (as is my Belle), would have eliminated that issue.  In fact, when we did finally find two schools that welcomed both my daughter and Ellie, neither disruption nor allergies created any problems whatsoever.  I can't emphasize enough that the various aides previously assigned to my daughter did not come close to providing her with the emotional support that Ellie offered in addition to the other tasks she performed. There were also definite social benefits to having a personable, delightfully goofy, dog help my daughter interact with other students.   As an added, unanticipated, benefit, Ellie helped several other students overcome their fear of dogs, and on several occasions helped the teachers diffuse difficult situations that arose in the classroom that did not even involve my daughter. I wish more school officials realized that a well-trained doodle could be a valuable educational assistant. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I agree with you totally. I can see the district being concerned about allergies and truthfully about liability if the dog bit someone even if it was justified, but traditionally service dogs have been universally accepted by society. I think things have become so litigious that people are so concerned about covering their butt that they 'throw the baby out with the bath water. ' pure stupidity!!!! Independence is the goal and if a service dog gives one that independence then the goal has been achieved.