MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — A service dog was ordered out of a federal court room in Mobile, and the dog’s owner isn’t happy with the reason he got from the judge.
Kris Allfrey is an Army veteran and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s also the trainer for his wife’s service dog, Dewey.
In July, the Ohio couple was in Mobile so both could testify in an ongoing legal matter stemming from a previous vacation to the Gulf Coast.
They were set to testify on different days. When it was Allfrey’s turn, he didn’t think there would be an issue bringing along Dewey.
“His three primary tasks are he alerts her to seizures. He alerts both of us, or gets us out of it, when we get into PTSD episodes, and he attempts to calm us when we have anxiety,” Allfrey explained.
He says problems arose once the animal’s presence was brought to U.S. District Court Judge Terry Moorer’s attention.
A court transcript shows Judge Moorer acknowledging the dog as Allfrey’s wife’s service animal, not his, and says “to make arrangements for whatever needs to be done” to see that Dewey is removed from court.
An attorney responded, saying, “As a service dog in training, a trainer has the right to take him into this facility under the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Judge Moorer replied, “It is my courtroom.”
“All of a sudden he’s telling me I have to take the dog out even though the dog is assisting me in giving clear and concise testimony and not getting worked up,” Allfrey recalled.
As to not delay proceedings, Judge Moorer did allow Allfrey to continue that day’s testimony with Dewey present but said if the trial continued, “he needs to find someone else to tend to the dog.”
Allfrey now wants a different judge to preside over the case.
News 5 contacted Judge Terry Moorer’s office. The person who answered pointed us to the court clerk. That person said they could not offer a legal opinion on what happened with Allfrey and the service dog.
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