[nagdu] Another supposed "service animal" someone wants to take to school...

Sun Oct 16 20:51:46 CDT 2005

Now I see why many people are becoming pro-certification when others make a mockery of the ADA like this.  Just more proof that many people will abuse the system if they can get away with it.  
Student fights to keep pet ferret at dormitory

AP

(10/14/05 - SAN ANTONIO, TX) - A student has filed an Americans With Disabilities Act complaint against a university because it won't let her keep her pet
ferret at her dormitory.
Freshman Sarah Sevick, 19, said in a complaint filed with the U.S. Justice Department that she needs the ferret, named Lilly, at Our Lady of the Lake University
to calm her during panic attacks.

"I'm not suing the school, and I'm not asking for money. I'm just trying to get her here," she said.

Sevick said she has been diagnosed with psychiatric problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder. She takes medication for depression and anxiety,
she said.

She said her problems are related, legally, to a physical disability.

"It's something inside my body that I can't control," Sevick said.

She is attending the university on a $2,000-per-semester English scholarship and majoring in public relations/marketing.

Sevick requested to keep the ferret at her dormitory and in class before she moved onto campus in August, but was denied.

Susan Schleicher, spokeswoman at Our Lady of the Lake, said the university, to protect student privacy, couldn't comment.

Sevick said she's had many attacks since she's been on campus without the ferret.

She discovered Lilly's calming affects when she received the ferret as a gift about a year ago.

"Pretty quickly, we realized it was very responsive to her," said Sevick's mother, Kay, who now cares for Lilly. "When (Sarah's) anxiety goes up, (Lilly)
climbs on her and nuzzles her, and will stay for hours with her until she's better."

Sarah Sevick said university officials feared the ferret was a threat to other students and wasn't trained as a service animal. Rick White, a local ferret
rescuer, supports Sevick.

"The school is using old, outdated information," he said. "In order to make ferrets bite, you have to really provoke them."

Federal officials have denied service-animal status for animals not trained for specific tasks.

Transportation providers make a distinction for animals: Service animals have access rights under the ADA, emotional support animals do not.

Some transit systems allow therapy animals on buses and trains if they have proper identification from a training facility, according to a 1997 report prepared
for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Meanwhile Sevick said she's not doing well in class.

"It's almost like I'm being jinxed," she said. "Because of that, I stay in my room."

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
CJ & Service Dog Ellie (my Very Caring Canine)
"Admitting you are wrong is usually better than being right." --- Unknown

List Owner or Moderator
TRAINING IN MODERATION
Discussion of All Training Modalities Welcome Here:
Moderate-SD-Trainers-subscribe at yahoogroups.com
G-DOGS - A GREAT GROUP FOR TALKING NOTHING BUT GUIDE DOGS & MORE GUIDE DOGS:
G-Dogs-subscribe at yahoogroups.com

You can Email CJ & Ellie here:
K9Trainer at CeBridge.net

ELLIE'S BIG BACK YARD
All About Training My Own Service/Guide Dog Blog:
http://www.xanga.com/walkingfree2020
-------------- next part --------------
Now I see why many people are becoming pro-certification when others make a mockery of the ADA like this.  Just more proof that many people will abuse the system if they can get away with it. 
Student fights to keep pet ferret at dormitory

AP