A Florida judge has ruled the carer dog of a young boy with cerebral palsy can accompany him to school

IN A decision that could save the life of a young boy, a Florida judge has ruled that Stevie the carer dog can accompany his mate to school.

SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Anthony Merchante suffers from a host of serious disabilities: He has cerebral palsy, spastic paralysis and a seizure disorder.

On top of that he cannot speak — but he has someone who does that for him.

Stevie is Anthony’s carer dog and the staffordshire terrier alerts people when his little mate is about to have a seizure or is having trouble breathing.

Such is the importance of Stevie that Anthony’s mother, Monica Alboniga, has been fighting for the past two years with the school board in their local Florida district to allow the dog to accompany Anthony to school.

Stevie rarely leaves Anthony’s side.

However school administrators felt that Stevie did not belong in the classroom and as the fight went to federal court, they hoped the judge would agree.

But in a heartwarming decision, the court delivered a scathing indictment of the school’s refusal to allow the trained carer dog to attend class and ruled that Stevie should be able to accompany Anthony to Nob Hill Elementary School.

While Stevie attended school during the proceedings of the case, Anthony’s mother was relieved by the decision and told the Miami Herald that the tan and white terrier “has saved Anthony’s life.”

“I feel completely safe every time he is with the dog, because I know the dog will look for help.”

The single mother of two is overjoyed that Stevie can attend school with her son.

According to the newspaper, the lawyer of the single mum said had the district won, the 4-year-old dog would have certainly been expelled.

Stevie has been trained to Assistance Dog International Standards and rarely leaves the side of the young boy.

He is even trained to sit on him in a way that supports his head and opens his airways.

While Anthony has a 5-month-old baby sister, Stevie shows little interest in her as he apparently displays an intuitive understanding that Anthony is his responsibility. “He loves Anthony,” his mother said, “and Anthony loves Stevie, too.”

The four-year-old terrier displays a sense of responsibility in his role of looking after Anthony.

Originally published as A Florida judge has ruled the carer dog of a young boy with cerebral palsy can accompany him to school