Dog Denied Spot At Autistic Boy's School

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This story showed up on the local news last night. Thought I'd pass it along.

http://www.kcra.com/news/16331182/detail.html

Last edited by Lepidoptera on 20 May 2008, 12:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I bet if the child was blind they would have no issues having the dog in school....

What a sad principle...

Too bad we only have one side of the story here. I wonder how the parents went about it. Did they tell the school about it first or just walk in with the dog. How were things presented? What information was given? Who knows what all the circumstances are. I would think the parents would have to notify the school so they could arrange for it if it is necessary. Plus the school would have to have time to figure out if other kids were allergic to dogs and account for that too. How many autistic people need to have a dog at school? I'm sure it would be beneficial but if it needed is what the needs to be figured out.

Yes, this is something that could be quit complicated for a school as mentioned. What if all the autistic kids wanted to have a dog ? It could get pretty crowded in the classrooms. With my animal fur fetish, I would personally have gotten nothing done because I would have to try and block out the urge to go cuddle everyones dog...not kidding, it's a kind of OCD thing with me. I also agree it could be a problem for kids who are alergic or are afraid of dogs. All of these details would need to be worked out whatever the disability that was helped by having a dog.

Interesting. There are several laws about service dogs that are commonly misunderstood, and this could be affecting this story.

A service animal is legal defined as an animal that has been trained to perform a duty that improves a disabled person's ability to live a normal life. (paraphrased)

If the dog is still in training, as the article implies, that law might not technically apply.

The ADA requires public places to allow service animals as defined above. If this is a public school, I think that should apply to them, but this law might not apply to all private schools.

Actually seeing eye dog schools in the U.S. won't match anyone up with a dog unless they're at least 16, and most schools require that you be 18. It is recommended that a blind person should wait for their first dog until after graduating high school. Stupid kids are dumb around canes, and they get even dumber around dogs. Also owning a service dog is not the same as owning a pet. It's work. I would be more understanding if this kid needed a seizure dog. But you're right about the principal.

I agree with KateShroud. It is dangerous for young children to have service dogs, dangerous for both the dog and the child. It doesn't matter what the disability is.

"There are 125 students at McFall Preschool with developmental disabilities, including autism, the San Joaquin County office of Education said"

Shouldn't they be more understanding then? If the dog helps the kid learn, why should it be banned!?!

That's exactly what I was going to ask.

Let me tell you guys why the dog might be banned. First let me say that the principal might have been a jerk, but I don't know for sure. I wasn't there. I have a friend who is also blind who told me a story about an experience she had with her guide dog. Her dog was leading her across a busy street, when some moron began throwing scraps of pizza out his car window at the dog. It's lucky my friend wasn't killed in the middle of that busy intersection. I've also spoken with several people who complain that coworkers mess with their dogs while at work. If so many adults are this stupid, then how can you expect better from kids? If that dog is in a preschool class, the handler will actually learn less. Other kids will always want to pet and feed the dog, some of them will throw stuff at it, and so on. If the boy needs a seizure dog to avoid a trip to the ER that's understandable. Otherwise I think he should wait till he's at least a little older. It takes someone of real maturity to refrain from petting a service dog while the dog is in harness.