Thank you to our friends at Stand Up For Pits Foundation and Show Your Soft Side for standing behind Laddy and his mom. We wont stay silent while amazing dogs are discriminated against. Below is from our board member Heather Speeks. As those that live in the same town as Virtua, its way too close to home. BSL will not be tolerated. Thank you to everyone who is standing with us, with Laddy and for what is right. Since the situation arose with Virtua Hospital going back on their word and denying Aladdin entry into their pet therapy program based solely on his breed, I’ve had quite a few comments and messages of solidarity. Some have questions as to why I feel so strongly that the fight to have Virtua change their policy continue. After all, there are many medical care facilities that do not practice breed specific discrimination and that would embrace having Michele and Laddy visit their patients. I certainly understand that logic – why waste time chasing someone who has wronged us the way Virtua has by way of their outright lies and deceitful tactics. For me, the answer is that all it takes for evil to triumph is good men to stay silent. I feel that by not fighting tooth and nail their bigoted decision and going tacitly away implies that I am somehow accepting of Virtua’s refusal to see Aladdin for the dog that he is, rather than the dog a myopic few fear he may be. I simply can’t do it. When community leaders, in politics or business, discriminate against dogs based on breed, it harms everyone. If Virtua thinks it okay to treat “pit bull type dogs” any differently than any other dog, it sends a clear message to the public – the next landlord, the next police officer, the next pet groomer – that it is okay to treat pit bulls differently. It’s okay to hold them to an impossible standard not because of anything they have done but because of hype and stereotypes. It’s telling the world that even though people like Michele Schaffer-Stevens spend their time, money and love rehabilitating these dogs, they still are not accepted in society. It’s telling the folks that may walk into shelters with an open home and heart not to adopt a pit bull mix because they are somehow “less than.” I can’t and won’t stand for it. I can’t and won’t just walk away while a billion dollar corporation that gets a load of tax breaks from the town that I live in behaves this way. I am sick over this – Aladdin is a certified therapy dog with all credentials. He has already served as a therapy dog in other facilities. Virtua will not even meet him. They are the definition of bigotry and should be called on it. To do less does a disservice to Aladdin and all dogs. To voice your opinion, please contact Richard Miller, CEO and President of Virtua at [email protected] and Dean Mazzoni, Vice President of Operations of Virtua at [email protected]. We are not going away.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 23:37:39 +0000
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