Federal law dictates that service animals are allowed in public schools and all public areas to provide help and assistance for people that have disabilities. Most people think of service animals as being strictly for the blind but service dogs have been trained to help people with a large range of disabilities including cerebral palsy.

One of the lifesaving benefits that a service animal can provide for a person with cerebral palsy is announcing that the person is having a seizure that could be life threatening. Some researchers have considered that the changes in body odor that precede a seizure tell the dog that a seizure is imminent before any human could detect the signs of a seizure.

This short video explains the hoops that the family of a boy with cerebral palsy had to jump through in order to allow a Pit Bull named Stevie to accompany his owner Anthony to school because the 7-year-old has cerebral palsy. The stink was based on the fear that a ferocious Pit Bull might attack other children despite the fact that the dog was constantly attached to the child’s wheelchair and was professionally certified to be a safe and friendly service dog.

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Dallas Seavey, the 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog champion poses with his lead dogs Reef, left, and Hero in Nome, Alaska on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Seavey won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father, Mitch, to the finish line after racing 1,000 miles across Alaska.

Dallas Seavey proved the short answer to all of those questions was no Wednesday when he won the race for the third time in four years.

The Alaska musher crossed the finish line in the Bering Sea coastal town of Nome at 4:13 a.m., completing the route in eight days, 8 hours, 13 minutes and 6 seconds. That’s about five hours longer than the record he set in winning the 2014 race.

“Obviously going into this race, the big hubbub was all about the new trail, right?” Seavey told a packed convention hall. Concerns were about the “warm, warm, warm winter” and conditions on the Yukon River, he said.

In fact, a snowmobile sank on thin ice on part of the route mushers were about to take. Some were considering buying rain gear.

But then winter came back to Alaska, and the trails became much more like one would expect for the Iditarod.

“We saw a lot of 40-, 50-below zero, snow,” said Seavey, of Willow. “This was a very tough race. It was not the easy run that a lot of people had anticipated for the Yukon River.”

Seavey’s father, Mitch, finished in second place Wednesday. Veteran musher Aaron Burmeister was third, arriving in Nome at 9:47 a.m., followed by Jessie Royer in fourth place at 11:51 a.m.

Before the race, some wondered if musher Pete Kaiser would have an advantage because of his experience racing on ice. Kaiser won this year’s Kuskokwim 300, which is run entirely on a river. He was in 13th place en route to Nome on Wednesday afternoon.

Dallas Seavey said this year’s competition came down to different mushing styles.

“I think going into this race, we all knew the winner would be who could maximize this new trail and take advantage of that,” he said.

He used two different styles: He was more aggressive than usual early on, running near the front of the pack. Then he let loose what he calls the “monster,” a team that can finish strong, building speed at the end.

After his victory, Dallas Seavey petted and hugged his dogs.

“I really do believe this is one of the best teams there’s ever been,” he said at a news conference. “That may just be overly proud pet parent talking, but they did just win the Iditarod, so that’s some credibility.”

He was presented with $70,000 — $19,600 more than last year — and the keys to a new pickup truck.

Dallas Seavey became the race’s youngest champion in 2012 at age 25. He also won last year in a race he figures he should have placed third in. A freak storm blew out the leaders, and he came across the finish line and didn’t realize he’d won until a cameraman told him.

His father, who lives in Sterling, is a two-time champion. Mitch Seavey won in 2004, and a year after Dallas became the race’s youngest winner, Mitch became its oldest at 53.

A total of 78 mushers began this year’s race March 9 in Fairbanks. Nine racers later scratched, and one was disqualified.

Two dogs have died this year, including one that was hit by a car after getting loose during the ceremonial start. The other dog was on four-time champion Lance Mackey’s team.

Dallas Seavey, the 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog champion poses with his lead dogs Reef, left, and Hero in Nome, Alaska on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Seavey won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father, Mitch, to the finish line after racing 1,000 miles across Alaska.

Dallas Seavey, the 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion poses with his lead dogs Hero, left, and Reef in Nome, Alaska on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Seavey won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father, Mitch, to the finish line after racing 1,000 miles across Alaska.

Dallas Seavey, the 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion talks to the media in Nome, Alaska on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Seavey won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father, Mitch, to the finish line after racing 1,000 miles across Alaska.

Dallas Seavey, the 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion is presented with a ceremonial check for $70,000 in Nome, Alaska on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Seavey won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father, Mitch, to the finish line after racing 1,000 miles across Alaska.

Tim Motis and his daughter Jenae Motis, 4, watch Dallas Seavey win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Seavey won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father, Mitch, to the finish line after racing 1,000 miles across Alaska.

Dallas Seavey mushes down Nome, Alaska to win his third Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Seavey won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father, Mitch, to the finish line after racing 1,000 miles across Alaska.

Mitch Seavey mushes into White Mountain during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Dallas Seavey has won his third Iditarod in the last four years, beating his father, Mitch, to the finish line in Nome early Wednesday after racing 1,000 miles across Alaska.

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For the last two years, Monica Alboniga has been trying to convince the Broward County School Board to allow her seven-year-old son to have his service dog with him at school.  The boy has cerebral palsy, and very much relies on his dog, Stevie.  Last week a judge ruled that Stevie should be allowed to attend.

With as many worries about their children that parents already have, none should have to worry about the safety of their child while at school.  In addition to cerebral palsy, Anthony Merchante has spastic paralysis, a seizure disorder, and he is unable to speak.  He uses a wheelchair to get around, and Stevie is often tethered to it.

Monica says Stevie “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.”

Stevie alerts people when Anthony has trouble breathing or is about to have a seizure.  He can lay himself across Anthony’s lap to support his head so his airway isn’t restricted.

“Stevie lets me know when he has seizures or problems breathing. He pushes me toward Anthony. He barks,” Monica said. “When Anthony is having convulsions, he starts barking and goes looking for us. Then he goes back to Anthony and stays with him.”

Despite this, school administrators continuously said the trained service dog did not belong in the school.  A lawsuit was filed, and fortunately, US District Judge Beth Bloom is of a different opinion that the school.  She ruled that Stevie should be allowed to attend Nob Hill Elementary with Anthony.

“The district has always permitted the service dog at the school,” said the district’s spokeswoman, Tracy Clark. Alboniga “pursued the lawsuit as the parties [the district and the plaintiff] differ somewhat in the interpretation of the federal regulations governing service animals. The district’s legal department is reviewing and analyzing the order.”

When Monica submitted a formal request for Stevie to accompany Anthony in July of 2013, the school board demanded that Stevie must have a number of vaccinations that dogs are rarely given, and that Monica pay for Stevie to have a handler.

Her attorney, Matthew Dietz, called the rider “an impossible barrier” that violated federal civil rights laws.

“The fact that the judge said the school board’s rules made no sense vindicates this woman’s belief that what she was doing for her son was the right thing,” he said.

For the first four months that Anthony attended kindergarten, his mother worked as Stevie’s handler.  Later, a custodian was appointed the task of walking Stevie outside and making sure other children didn’t interfere with his responsibilities.

“While at school,” Judge Bloom wrote, “Stevie does not eat or drink. Nor does Stevie defecate or make stains, or require cleaning or exercise.”

But administrators repeatedly claimed that it was not the district’s job to help Anthony keep Stevie at school.  However, someone at the US Justice Department said the board “fundamentally misunderstands” ADA regulations, which state that “public entities generally must permit individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animals.”

The board argued that Stevie’s presence wasn’t necessary, as there were staff trained to perform the same tasks, and that the district shouldn’t have to pay for a dog handler.

“Congress specifically intended that individuals with disabilities not be separated from their service animals, even in schools,” the DOJ wrote.

Judge Bloom ruled that it was reasonable to expect the district to allow Stevie on campus “in the same way a school would assist a non-disabled child to use the restroom, or assist a diabetic child with her insulin pump, or assist a physically disabled child employ her motorized wheelchair.”

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