photo courtesy of “Letters for Lucy”
What would you do if your Certified Therapy/ Canine Good Citizen dog was invited by the Principal and a School Psychologist of an elemenatary school to be of assistance to children and on that first day, that dog named Lucy, was told she was no longer welcomed via email at the school by the Superintendent a few hours after you and she left that school?
What was the crime, you ask? Lucy assisted a crying 7 yr. old child into a 2nd grade classroom after the child clearly didn’t want to do it. Because of Lucy, a child overcame a fear and how was her compassionate rewarded? She was banned from the Schuylkill Valley Elementary School by the Superintendent after reading articles that made him feel that Lucy was an inappropriate choice of a therapy dog.
Kristen Torchia, Lucy’s “mom”, told me the Superintendent had informed her the school already had a therapy dog in place despite the fact the other dog has not been in attendance because of his “mom’s” maternity leave until the end of November.
For me and many others, the banning of Lucy amounts to breed discrimination. An oldie, but a goodie, I say. Pit Bull discrimination. Sound familiar? One need only to hear those words and I’m quite sure one can conjure up images of a dangerous Pit Bull mauling a child or adult. We’ve heard these tragedies repeatedly told on our newscasts. What we don’t hear are the stories of other breeds of dogs biting people. Did you know a Dalmation, Siberian Husky, St. Bernard, Akita and the Chow Chow are breeds that are currently on the top ten list of most dangerous dogs? Do you recall hearing relevant bite stories when it comes to these breeds on your local newscast? Every dog has the propensity to bite as do other breeds of animals but this fact seems to fall on deaf ears and fails to be of relevance with the media. Why is that? Are you also aware other breeds of animals can leave you with dangerous bite wounds?
Case in point: Cats can leave you with nasty bites that you won’t soon forget. I have been the recipient of two serious animal bites in my life- a dog and a cat. Although I didn’t recognize the signs that my beagle/bird dog had shown me to leave him alone when I was a child, I was bitten by him. When I was bitten by a relative’s cat as an adult, I have to admit that bite was far worse and warranted a trip to the ER. Once again, by the time I observed the undeniable agitation signs of the cat, it was too late. Most bites can be avoided if we acknowledge and respect those signs as I clearly did not.
Any dog has the predisposition to bite and we, as adults, must be responsible pet owners and understand this simple philosophy. Several factors will influence this propensity to bite: sex of a dog, early socialization and training, and quality of the guardian of any dog are a few distinctive elements to consider when you have a dog.
Lucy has two admirable titles- Certified Therapy Dog and Canine Good Citizen. Each title requires work and serious testing to pass. Therapy dogs must be calm, confident, even-keeled and love being around people. A Canine Good Citizen Dog certificate consists of meeting ten objectives with several listed here: accepting a friendly stranger, sitting politely for petting, walking through a crowd, sitting and lying down on command, reacting appropriately to another dog and distractions and calmly enduring supervised separation from the owner. Both titles that Lucy possesses comprise of requirements that include working with the dog on an ongoing basis throughout each program and passing and earning the right to these titles after successfully completing the tests for each program.
So what would you do after being told that your therapy dog has been denied access to a school to help children clearly in need of more help by a Superintendent who based his decision on a few articles that are biased against this breed? Would you shrug it off and forget about it OR would you seize this as a much-needed opportunity to raise awareness of the plight of the stigma that Pit Bulls receive on a daily basis not only by the media but by ignorance of people who may or may not know the truth behind the myth?
Kristen knew at the very moment when her daughter, Angelina, asked her “Why are they bullying my puppy, mommy?”, she knew she needed not only to teach her child that Lucy was more than a breed of dog but there was also a need to be a voice for a dog breed that was being bullied much like kids are today. Little did Kristen know that her decision to teach her child these valuable lessons would lead her on a much larger mission she hadn’t envisioned.
This was the beginning of “Letters for Lucy.” The intent of these letters was “to gather as many letters from local parents who would support Lucy to enter the school which would allow her to utilize her natural skills to engage with children who suffer from reading difficulties, social anxiety, autism, to promote positive awarenesss and shed light on the most misunderstood breed in today’s society. To teach children to never judge based on what’s on the outside but the inside and allow Lucy to thrive in the environments in which she has so much training.”
After personally speaking with Kristen, I was very impressed with not only her desire but her dedication to this much-needed cause. A “Letters for Lucy” facebook page has been completed with the help of her friends. She also has a very supportive husband and of course, Angelina. Combine that with over 4500 FB friends, I would venture to say Kristen’s world has changed as she clearly acknowledged to me. Her mission is only beginning.
In the spirit of creating awareness, this Sunday, November 18th, two FREE events will be held promoting awareness of the myths of Pit Bulls. The first event, Lucy’s Pack Walk, will be held at Godfrey’s Welcome to To Dogdom in Mohnton at 11 AM. Chuck Stella, professional trainer and proprietor of Elite K911, Dog Training and Behavior will be leading the walk and speaking to all who will be participating. Mr. Stella will be traveling from his home in Ohio to Berks County to be a part of this amazing opportunity. Kristen not only spoke highly of this man but was very thankful that he would take time to be part of “Letters for Lucy” awareness campaign.
The Hamburg Strand Movie Theater will be hosting the documentary of “Beyond the Myth” about Pit Bulls at 4 PM. This film investigates the myths associated with these breeds, challenges the idea that they are inherently vicious, and presents eye-opening research regarding the media’s role in influencing people’s opinion on dog attacks, according to the documentary’s website. You can see the trailer to the movie by clicking the above link. Prior to the film screening, Kristen and her friends will be speaking. Mr. Stella will be talking after the documentary.
This is a must-see and not-to-be missed opportunity for not only animal advocates but for those who may be misguided or misinformed about the Pit Bull breed. This would make a great occasion to take your children to learn about Pit Bulls but to also learn the answer to Angelina’s question, “Why are they bullying my puppy, mommy?”
Perhaps, the Superintendent of the Schuylkill Valley Elementary School will come to the very touching documentary “Beyond the Myth” to become a more informed person of the most-negatively and unjustifably talked about breed of dog. One can hope.
As I told Kristen, little did she know on that fateful day this past September, her life as she knew it has changed. “Letters for Lucy” has already taken on a life of its own but I hope it will touch so many lives and make an impact on peope’s perceptions about “bully breeds” being the most surrendered and euthanized dog in shelters across the nation through no fault of their own.
Kristen, as I told you, I not only admire you for standing up against this adveristy, I applaud you for siezing this time and being a voice for this misunderstood breed of dog. Kudos to you and all who are helping you on this journey.
On a side note, Lucy has been invited to be a therapy dog at another school.
What do you think of the Superintendent’s decision to ban Lucy from helping children at his school?