Service Dog Denied from Diabetic Teacher's Classroom
Published October 5, 2011
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A USA Today report says a Mississippi school district has denied a diabetic teacher's service dog from the classroom.
According to a USA Today article, a Type 1 diabetic Mississippi teacher has been denied the right to bring her service dog, a Diabetic Alert Dog, into her classroom.
The teacher, 29-year-old Christina McCurdy, uses her female boxer, Jinx, as a Diabetic Alert service dog. The dog is trained to alert McCurdy when her blood sugar is dropping, something she says she cannot tell the majority of the time. The huge swings in McCurdy's blood sugar levels could lead to seizures, organ damage and even death.
As a result of her condition, McCurdy has continuously lobbied her school district to allow her to bring her pup Jinx into the classroom. She's been denied repeatedly, and she still has not received an answer as to why.
In McCurdy's estimation, her dog Jinx is purely a service dog in the same fashion that a seeing-eye dog is. While dogs have been helping the blind for many years, diabetic alert dogs are a relatively new trend. They rely on scent to sense when blood sugar is dropping.
Do diabetic alert dogs really work? McCurdy thinks so. According to her, Jinx has never been wrong about when McCurdy's blood sugar is about to drop. And, as a result, she thinks having Jinx in the classroom could potentially save her life.
So what's the deal with denying this service dog from doing it's job? It doesn't seem right.
But what do you think? Let us know your thoughts in a comment!
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Comments (42)
This woman is no different than any other person who needs the help of their Service Dog. The people in this world need to learn what a SERVICE DOG does! The Federal Government Says that NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO DENI A PERSON ENTRANCE TO ANYTHING WITH A SERVICE DOG. IT IS CALLED THE AMERICAN DISABILITIES ACT!!!
My collie was never formally trained, but he was excellent at sensing my low blood sugars (I have type I diabetes). The dog is much less distraction than an emergency response team would be. This school district is being foolish and should be made to comply with the law.
According to the ADA, www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm, the school district is violating the law. Period. Unless the district can provide an alternative reasonable accommodation, it must allow the dog in.
I think she should be allowed to bring her dog to class it is a matter of life and death plus I think it would make the class more interactive and productive to have a dog around, dogs bring the best out in people