NORTH FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A Washington County community kicked in $13,000 to buy a specially trained dog for a little boy battling autism, but his school won't let the dog inside the building.

Linda Dallatore said her 7-year-old son Bradley has autism, which prevents him from saying too many words.

"He has no friends. He doesn't know to make friends. He has no social skills whatsoever," said Linda Dallatore.

However Bradley was given a service training dog Jiffy to help him increase his social skills and lessen his outbursts.

Linda Dallatore said she then proceeded to bring the Labrador Retriever to Bradley's school when she picked him everyday at 1 p.m. That is until Thursday, when the school said the dog needed to stay outside because some Bradley's fellow students were allergic or afraid of the dog.

"I'm not trying to hurt anybody. I'm not trying to scare anybody. I just want our rights to be what they are and to have them not discriminate against us anymore," said Linda Dallatore.

"We are not asking for the service animal to be in any special area of the school. This is an entrance area which any person can wait to pick their child up," said Bradley's father Robert Dallatore.

"We have been discriminated against just because my son is autistic," said Linda Dallatore.

Linda Dallatore said she tried again to enter the school with the dog but was denied by a school administrator.

"I'm surprised he would violate federal law by not allowing our service animal to come onto the school premesis," Robert Dallatore.

Channel 4 Action News researched the American Disabilities Act which states that, "The federal and state laws protect the right of individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by their personal trained service animals...in any place of public accommodation."

Trinity West Elementary School is a public school.

Linda Dallatore said one of the scariest symptoms of Bradley's autism is his tendency to run off.

"He disappeared for two hours one night," said Linda Dallatore.

However, Jiffy's training has included a technique where the dog attaches himself to Bradley and forces him to stay near the dog at all times through his harness.

"He's also abusive toward himself and to me when he gets into meltdown mode," said Linda Dallatore.

But Jiffy is also trained to help Bradley re-direct his outbursts by tugging at him.

"It's critical that the dog and my son spend as much time together as possible," said Robert Dallatore.

The family said it isn't like bringing a pet to school, because this animal is a service-trained dog.

Before getting the dog, Bradley couldn't sit in a car or through church for an hour, according to his family. They say that has all changed with the dog.

The school superintendent did not respond to WTAE Channel 4 Action News' request for comment Friday.

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