When Tim Hull's memory began to fail and bouts of anger and severe depression clouded his normally quiet life, he sank into despair.
By July, Hull, 40, was refusing to leave his home, except when seizures shook his body and his wife, Leann, took him to the hospital and to doctors' visits.
Hull attributes his anxiety, depression and seizures to severe concussions that he suffered while playing football in junior-high school. His medical issues became so debilitating that he was forced to leave his job as a mechanic technician for lawn mowers at Sears in Greensboro. Leann was part of the first layoffs at Dell back in the spring.
Leann saw that she and Tim might not be able to start a family as they had hoped. Though they have three large dogs, she wanted something small to cuddle to lessen the blow of never having a baby. She bought a ferret, against her husband's wishes.
As it turned out, the ferret, Bella, brought a peace into their home that the Hulls never expected.
Tim said he found an immediate calm when he held Bella. When he has suffered nonepileptic seizures from stress, Bella's behavior changes to great agitation, serving as an alert to Leann.
With Bella, Leann has persuaded Tim to leave their house and rejoin society. The ferret rides in an enclosed yellow stroller or in a zippered red mesh bag that the Hulls carry like a pocketbook.
Not everyone has appreciated Bella's effect on Tim's mental health. They have been asked to leave two large discount stores and most recently, Hanes Mall.
Tammy Hopkins, the marketing specialist for Hanes Mall management, said that service animals are welcome at the mall as long as they have a tag stamped as "North Carolina Service Animal Permanent Registration.''
Alejandro Miyar, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs in Washington, said that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act allows a dog "or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability.'' Private businesses are required under ADA to make accommodation to people with a disability to use a service animal, he said.
And such animals are not required to have any kind of state approval or stamp to be considered service animals, Miyar said.
Dogs are the most commonly used animals for service. But exotic animals may be put into service by disabled persons. Miyar said that his office has documented the use of miniature horses, an elephant and a cobra as service animals.
Leann said that it is frustrating to be turned away because of the ferret. She said she tried to get certification from the state, but was turned down because North Carolina considers the ferret a therapeutic animal and not a service animal.
"Bella has become his therapeutic service animal,'' she said. "He is so much better with her."
Cyoung9@triad.rr.com
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