Interesting Ferret Story

Update August 21, 2008: an interim agreement was reached to allow the disabled woman to once again take her ferret on Ottawa's public transit (Ferret allowed back on Ottawa buses, CBC.ca).

In Ottawa, ON, a disabled woman is fighting to be able to take her ferret on public transit with her (see OC Transpo rules ferret not a 'service animal' at OttawaCitizen.com). She uses a wheelchair and suffers from agoraphobia, anxiety and panic attacks; having her ferret with her calms the anxiety enough to allow her to get out and about via public transit. She was able to get a special pass to allow her to take her ferret on public transit, but it was recently revoked (the reason given is that the ferret is not trained as a service animal as per the transit bylaw). While I can see the point that the ferret is not a trained service animal (and I imagine granting the pass may have set a precedent that opened the floodgates to similar requests), I think it time our society became just a bit more enlightened to the value of pets in our lives. If this woman feels so much better just because her ferret is along (assuming the ferret is well-behaved, of course), isn't that a great thing? And honestly, to give her a pass and then revoke it just seems cruel. What do you think? Share your comments below or vote in our poll.