Approximately 46.3 million American households own dogs, but for some families, these animals are much more than just a pet. For Ehlena Fry, for example, a 12-year-old Michigan girl who has cerebral palsy, her dog Wonder actually allowed her to lead an independent life.
Though Wonder the Goldendoodle has since retired as a service dog, he waited with Fry outside the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week, while Fry’s parents and representatives from her former school battled over the details of a discrimination lawsuit that began when Napoleon Community Schools refused to allow Wonder to accompany Ehlena to school, appointing her a human aide instead.
The case hinges on a number of technicalities. The school argues that the Frys should have filed with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act before suing the school directly. But the Frys contend that their grievances are not about Ehlena’s education — which would have been equally adequate with canine or human aide alike — but about the physical, emotional, and social distress she suffered as a result of the school’s refusal to allow Wonder inside its walls.
“What we have said is the injury my client experienced is not a denial of education, but, for example, the humiliation that she experienced when she was forced to go to the toilet with the stall door open and four adults watching her because defendants did not trust her to use her dog to transfer to the toilet bowl,” explained the Frys’ attorney, Samuel Bagenstos.
Several justices appeared sympathetic to the Frys’ case, though others expressed concern that a ruling in their favor might set a precedent for excessive discriminatory lawsuits made without exhausting other administrative avenues. In turn, that could both tie up court systems and give plaintiffs in disability cases an unfair advantage.
Ehlena and Wonder, however, seemed optimistic as they waited outside the proceedings.
“I think we will win,” Ehlena said.