Tawan Throngkumpola, a United States Veteran that was permanently injured by an IED during his third tour abroad, is threatening to take the University of North Texas to court if they don’t reverse the ban on his service dog, Cali. He received a letter on Friday, closing the door on an appeal of a ruling from November that would allow him to bring the dog to campus. Cali was originally banned for five incidents of her being aggressive but not actually harming other people. He is now threatening to sue the school if the decision is not overturned.
Thropngkumpola and Cali weren’t expecting the letter. They have been working on Cali’s behavior and haven’t had a single reported incident since November. He took the concerns of other students seriously, trying to address it by enrolling Cali in additional behavior classes.
“We made effort to improve, but that’s not listed anywhere,” explained Throngkumpola. “It’s like the University’s just made their decision.”
The 7-year-old Rottweiler is a medical necessity for Throngkumpola. She reminds him to take his 20+ pills each day, eases his PTSD-related anxiety, barks when she senses he’s in medical distress, and lies on him at night to prevent him from sleepwalking.
Thropngkumpola says he’s going to keep fighting to have Cali on campus. He believes that Cali, and other veterans, deserve a second chance. He told Fox News that he will continue to fight the ruling, even if it means taking the University to court.
“I will risk my education, career to make sure this will not happen to another disabled veteran or disabled person,” he said.
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