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You may be wondering why a dog walking service in Philadelphia choses to take a stand on an issue such as marriage equality and LGBTIQA+ rights. What does it have to do with dogs?
In 2005 shortly after we founded The Monster Minders, we added “Rainbow Spot” to our website. It was a move that we knew could cost us potential clients, but we felt in our heart of hearts, was the right thing to do. When people invite us into their homes and trust us with their beloved monsters, we want them to know that we are allies. A few weeks ago, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court announced that everyone in the United States had the right to marry.
This is the statement we posted on FB on that momentous day:
While public opinion is swinging rapidly in favor of equality, we’re far from being “there" yet. So when we posted this statement a few hours after the SCOTUS announcement was made, we initially had the same trepidation we did in 2005. We felt it was the “right thing to do,” but didn’t know if we were going to unleash a firestorm of nasty comments and threats to “unlike.” And we worried, what if clients boycotted us after reading that? Could we be affecting our employees’ paychecks and livlihoods by taking a stand? But as the tears of happiness kept coming, we, sided with our hearts again on this and posted. And we are glad we did. The post got over 90 likes and not a single nasty comment or “unlike” to our Facebook page. Times are changing! (And for the record, our employees loved that we posted about our support.)
So now that everyone is guaranteed the right to marry whomever they love, why is “Rainbow Spot” still on our homepage? The one comment we got was asking us NOT to remove him. And we hear that. Workplace rights are not yet secure and discrimination is still very real to LGBTIQA+ citizens. We want people to know that we area an ALLY until the end. If you want to work for us, if you want us to walk your dog, if you want to be our friends - we support you.
Dogs can teach us so much about love. They love thoroughly and endlessly. And we firmly believe that everyone deserves the right to love. It is basic human (and canine) nature.
So with that, “Rainbow Spot” stays until there is no reason for him to be here.
Update 2023:
From crying tears of joy in 2015, to where where are today. It's hard to believe what is going on in some parts of the country. While we're in somewhat of a bubble in Philadelphia, acceptance and safety are still big issues for many families. Safety First is a core value at The Monster Minders and it extends beyond dogs. We want our clients to know they are safe with us. We see you and we stand with you until this nonsense ends.
