Today I was made aware of an incident that happened at a Wal Mart in Southern California in February of this year. A woman took her dog, a pit bull in training to become a service dog, adorned with the official red vest and all, into her local Wal Mart store and was told to leave by the customer service manager. The pit bull, Chloe, and her owner were forced to leave the store on the basis that she was more than likely vicious, unstable, and they were concerned for the many children in the store. This incident hereby places Wal Mart on the ever-growing list of retail stores I will no longer frequent.
Wal Mart has since apologized for their mistake and sent a letter of regret to Chloe’s owner, and doggy treats for Chloe, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20. This type of discrimination should have never happened in the first place, and while I am pleased Wal Mart has taken action to correct their error, steps need to be taken to make sure this type of situation does not happen again.
I wish I had the capability to affect as many people as main stream media, but for right now I obviously do not. So for the people I am able to reach, I would just like to ask that you take a minute to think before giving in to the sensationalism to pervasive in popular media. The less I watch the nightly news, or read one of the many heavily biased news sites, the more I realize that people have a really hard time thinking for themselves and formulating their own opinions. I think “they” have gotten us acclimated to not having to think, making it easier for “them” to fill our thoughts with fear and uncertainty, while shaping our opinions in the process.
So watch the video and make your own decision; sign the petition if you feel as strongly about this subject as I do. For more information you can visit Chloe’s site here: Chloe the Pit Bull
Video of Chloe’s Story From Local NewsÂ
Unfortunately just another example of dog-owners getting the (pardon the pun) short end of the stick. I’ve often been amazed at the hoops that dog owners have to jump through – registration, proof of rabies shots, yearly licensing, etc. while other pet owners (cats, etc.) have none of these requirements.
There is current pending legislation in Pennsylvania (I don’t know about other states) to further regulate kennels and breeders. The proposed regulations will probably put the majority of honest, decent kennels and breeders out of business. Once again another example of businesses that follow the rules don’t need more rules – those that don’t won’t follow the restrictions anyway.