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2011

  • March 7, 2011 | Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs Hillsboro School District Agrees to Access for Autism Service Dog. WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that the Hillsboro, Oregon, School District will allow Jordan “Scooter” Givens to bring his trained autism service dog into his classroom in the Hillsboro School District. 

    The highly trained service dog, Madison, provides critical assistance to Scooter, recognizing when he is about to engage in behavior that might endanger him, and distracting him to obstruct this type of behavior. For nearly three years, Scooter’s parents’ efforts to get permission for Scooter to bring Madison to school had been rebuffed. After U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton and a senior attorney from the Civil Rights Division met in late January with the superintendent of the Hillsboro School District regarding the failure to accommodate the Givens’ request, the school district announced last Friday that it would allow Scooter to be accompanied by the service dog for a trial period..

  • March 8, 2011 | Hillsboro, Ore. | Autistic boy wins fight to bring service dog to class  After a three-year battle with the Hillsboro School District, a young autistic boy has won his fight to bring his service dog to class. Due to a federal investigation, the school district had to make a decision, and Oregon’s attorney general laid it out bluntly: It could be a long, expensive lawsuit. So, Scooter Givens’ service dog, Madison, will be allowed during a trial period at Patterson Elementary…

  • March 8, 2011 | The Hillsboro Argus | Hillsboro service dog adds class to resume Sometimes it takes an animal to show people the most humane solutions to problems. It appears the rights of severely autistic children in Washington County will get a big paw forward with Friday’s announcement that the Hillsboro School District will allow Patterson Elementary fourth-grader Jordan “Scooter” Givens to bring his highly-trained dog Madison to school with him on a trial basis..

  • March 7, 2011 | Columbia Missourian,  Jefferson City, Mo. | Bill seeks service-animal rights for those with mental disabilities, Ten-year-old Sean LaRochelle sat quietly with his dog while his father testified during a public hearing Wednesday. According to his father, Matt LaRochelle, this would have been nearly impossible four years ago, before his family’s ownership of Cady, Sean LaRochelle’s service dog. Sean LaRochelle has severe autism. “I would have to be chasing him out of the room or down the hall,” Matt LaRochelle said. Without the assistance of Cady, Matt LaRochelle said his family essentially would be homebound.

  • Feb. 15, 2011 |  White Bear Lake: Mark Grewing lost one leg and then the other to diabetes but stayed active with aid from a wheelchair and a service dog. “He never got real down in the dumps about it,” said neighbor Lorraine Dreher. “He didn’t let it stop him from doing anything. He didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him…”

  • Feb. 9, 2011 | Greene County Dailies | Xenia, Ohio | 4 Paws for Ability receives donation The four legged friends in residence at 4 Paws for Ability, 253 Dayton Ave., received a generous donation on Wednesday, Feb. 9, when Proctor and Gamble provided the non-profit agency with a mind-boggling 44,800 pounds of dog food…

  • Feb. 7, 2011 | TwinCities.com | Mark Grewing had a hard life. Years ago, he lost his lower legs to diabetes, and he continued to be plagued by that and other diseases. About 4:30 a.m. Sunday, bothered by insomnia resulting from back pain, Grewing steered his wheelchair from his White Bear Lake apartment onto Highland Avenue, possibly headed for a nearby 24-hour convenience store. He was hit by a pickup truck and died later in the day at Regions Hospital in St. Paul…