Oldcastle boy must wait on decision over assistance dog

A 12-year-old Oldcastle boy who suffers from cerebral palsy cannot go to school because it has banned his assistance dog. The youngster could be facing two more weeks at home before any decision is made to allow the dog back. Luke Kelly-Melia, who is in sixth class at Knocktemple National School in Virginia, has to stay at home because of the "ludicrous" decision to not allow his assistance dog, Aidan, to accompany him to lessons. His parents, Pauline and Brendan, have decided to home-school Luke, who turns 13 next week, and are waiting for the school to make a decision about their request to allow the specially-trained golden retriever back into the school. Luke's father Brendan says his son's life has been "transformed" since last November, when he got the assistance dog from Cork-based charity Dogs For The Disabled, which helps Luke's mobility. "He used to fall maybe three times a day," said Brendan, who admits he is struggling to understand the decision. "We used to worry about him falling backwards and hitting his head against a pipe or a radiator but now if he wobbles backwards, the dog stops and they steady themselves up. If he hit his head from a fall, and he's a big lad, then it could be game over - that's something that we are just not willing to risk," Luke's dad added. "We got it off a charity in Cork. We had to wait nearly a year to get Aidan. We were called up and we went down and Luke trained with the dog. He's never worked so hard in his life. It was a huge success. It is possible that now that he's growing that he might have to get leg splints so the dog is a great help to him." The Kelly-Melias had to submit a written request to change the ban and have done so but the request has to be considered by the board of management for the school, which does not meet until near the end of January - in two weeks' time. A letter from the school asked that Luke's family "cease the current practice of bringing the dog onto the school premises" until a final decision was made by the board. "It could be two weeks before we get any answer," said Brendan. "If that's the case, it's a ludicrous decision. We've heard nothing back after requesting a meeting with them on Tuesday (3rd January) only that it will have to be discussed by the board." A request for a response from the school made yesterday (Tuesday) went unanswered at the time of going to press. The Department of Education said it provided for the "care needs of children with special educational needs who require support in the classroom through the special needs assistant scheme". A spokesperson was quoted yesterday as saying it was a "matter for the board of management of each school to develop a policy on whether guide dogs or assistance dogs were allowed in the school, taking account of the needs of all the children in the school".