I can not even describe the respect & admiration I have for Amanda Williams and her family. The self control that she shows in the face of cruel harassment and unfair treatment speaks loudly the strength of her character.
Our dogs are not just bundles of fur with four legs. Our dogs are part of our families and that has nothing to do with the breed of dog they are. As owners, it’s our responsibly to protect and fight for our dogs. Amanda did that and was willing to rehome her dog Jada to a rescue when given the option. When Cindy pressed for Jada to be euthanized- Amanda fought for her dog.
Amanda Williams shared- “I don’t even think I’ve started to heal yet, it’s just so hard to talk about it. I’ve been more focused on my son and helping him heal.”
Over & over BSL advocates scream “There are 400 + other breeds to choose from!” and that’s great but this family chose Jada. They chose a great dog and this tragedy doesn’t define Jada. This tragedy will never change the memories that Amanda’s son will have of Jada.
“I had Jada 2 years before my son was born. They grew up together!”
How many of us can relate to that? Millions. Millions of us have raised dogs right along side our children, watching them grow, play, comfort each other and learn from each other. My oldest daughter had that opportunity with our Daisy Doo, and now our youngest is growing right along side our Scrappy Doo and I can only imagine the memories that my children are creating with them.
“The first day I brought my son home, Jada slept under his bassinet. She loved him and he loved her. They did everything together, she slept right there with him at night.”
As a mother, I have to applaud Amanda. It’s so hard watching something like this happen and not be able to stop it. Watching your child try to make sense of the terrible situation and trying hard to do whatever you can do to shield them from the pain and craziness and knowing your child is still affected breaks a mothers heart. (I am totally the first one to say Amanda is a far stronger woman than I because if Cindy kept harassing my family after having my dog killed…. Well, it just wouldn’t be nice.)
As Mothers, we can’t help but putting our child’s needs before our own- which is what Amanda is focusing on.
“He knows she’s in doggy heaven but still just doesn’t understand why she can’t come home.”
“We have memories of her. Her urn, little ornaments with her foot prints, tons of pictures- but that doesn’t bring her home or take away the heart ache.”
The media needs to wake up and start paying attention. This tragedy affected more than just one bitter old woman who is habitually harassing people- but a whole family with a young boy who is to young to understand that his dog was euthanized based on her breed. We all know why this dog was euthanized and it’s all because of her breed.
I had to ask Amanda- after this whole tragedy, what does she want us to know about Jada and if she wished to share something with Cindy Ryder and her answer floored me.
“Jada wasn’t a mean or an aggressive dog- she loved everybody, including strangers. I just would like Cindy to please stop harassing my family. It’s not helping her or I heal. I know she’s grieving over the loss of her dog and so are we. I just want her to grieve peacefully and to stop harassing us. This has become just cruel and childish. I understand she’s sad but so are we.”
Through everything, the court cases to the harassment, Amanda Williams acts with diginty and honor. Cindy Ryder should take notes and so should the media.
I totally wish the best for Amanda and her family. I’m glad that eventually they will be moving away from their neighbor from hell and continue healing- but I really hope that this brings awareness that tragedies like this are never just one sided and that we need to pay attention to the stories plastered in the media. We, the public need to start demanding ethical and fair reporting instead of letting them cherry pick their info for ratings. It’s becoming obvious that this community is tired of Cindy Ryder’s lies and will not be silent anymore.
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