Frances Woodard said the agreement allowing Gyno on the bus will make a 'huge' difference in her life by allowing her to get out of the house. (CBC)An Ottawa woman will once again be allowed to ride the city's public buses with the animal she relies on to stave off her panic attacks.
Frances Woodard can take her ferret Gyno back on public transit under an interim agreement with OC Transpo as soon as Thursday, once the deal has been signed by the city solicitor, City of Ottawa spokesman Patrick Uguccioni said Thursday.
Woodard, who visited City Hall Wednesday with Gyno and with other ferret owners who support her, said the ruling will make a "huge" difference in her life.
"It's going to get me out of the house," she said.
In July, Woodard filed an accessibility complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency after Ottawa's public transit company revoked the access card that allowed Gyno on the bus.
'Stop this madness. Either open the buses to all animals, or ban all animals from the buses. Let's not make exceptions.'
—Rob Lock
Woodard, who uses a wheelchair and suffers panic attacks, said the animal calms her, staving off the attacks, and she is afraid to travel without him.
A letter from a psychiatrist confirmed that Gyno is Woodard's service animal, as guide dogs are for some people.
However, OC Transpo's policies stated that service animals must be trained and registered with a recognized organization for the purpose of being used in therapy.
One exception
Mary Beth Stanistreet, president of the Ferret Rescue Society of Ottawa, was at City Hall with her ferret Bruiser on Wednesday to argue for a broader definition.
In July, Woodard had filed an accessibility complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency after OC Transpo revoked the access card that allowed Gyno on the bus. (CBC)"I like to consider ferrets something of nature's own naturally occurring anti-depressant," she said, adding that it's counter-intuitive for OC Transpo to encourage people to use transit and then prevent people from bringing pets that could be considered service animals.
For the moment, OC Transpo is not allowing exceptions except Woodard's ferret.
However, Woodard's interim agreement with OC Transpo includes mediation with the Canadian Transportation Agency to discuss what a service animal is. That means more general guidelines affecting other service animals will be drafted over the next few months, Uguccioni said.
Woodard said she will be involved in that.
Her lawyer, Terrance Greene, said there is no "cookie-cutter" definition.
However, what all service animals have in common is that they minimize their owner's functional limitations, he added.
"And there is full agreement with that with OC Transpo so that's why we're able to move forward."
