Ferret is medical necessity

SAN ANTONIO -- Sarah Sevick says her ferret is more than just a pet -- the animal is a medical necessity.

Sevick, 19, has filed an Americans With Disabilities Act complaint against her school because it won't let her keep the animal in her dormitory.

She said 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," she said. I'm just trying to get her here."

Sevick said she has post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from a physical disorder and depression. She said her problems are related, legally, to a physical disability.

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

Susan Schleicher, spokeswoman for the school, said the university could not comment.