'Guide ferret' gets transit bump

OTTAWA, July 24 (UPI) -- Canadian transportation officials annulled the public transport pass of a ferret named Gyno that an Ottawa woman claims is a guide animal.

Frances Woodard, 54, is challenging the decision made earlier this year by OC Transpo, Ottawa's public transit authority, over a the revocation of the permit for her 3-year-old albino ferret, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

Woodard is diagnosed with agoraphobia, associated with anxiety and panic attacks in public, and claims the ferret helps with her disorder.

"He grounds me," Woodard said of the ferret. "It's like he senses I'm going into a panic, and the petting and stroking calms me down. It gives me something to focus on other than the panic," she told the newspaper.

Vincent Patterson, OC Transpo's manager of performance, said he couldn't comment on the revocation of the pass for Gyno, but told the Citizen sometimes animal assistance cards are "mistakenly issued."