A Goal to Work Toward

So I was thinking all morning about our situation and discrimination as a whole. I tried to see the situation in a different light. I tried to determine if there were other issues at hand to be denied adoption of Tex. However, all the reasons we were given were about Sonora, her "behavior," and how Uma was uncomfortable with that situation. Perhaps Uma truly did not realize that basing your decision solely on the behavior of a special needs child is discrimination. (The crazy thing is, Sonora's behavior was not beyond anything a "normal" child would/could have done.) Uma never said she wasn't letting us adopt Tex because Sonora has Asperger's, but then again, others who intentionally or unintentionally discriminate do not openly acknowledge or realize the true reasons behind their actions. Through all of our discussions, my husband and I have come up with so many different options that could have been done to have kept this from happening. She could have given our case to the other Volunteer with special needs kids - admitting that she was probably not the right person to be determining placement due to her inexperience with special needs children. Two, she could have asked to meet us at a park or our house instead of bringing an energetic puppy to a small pet store to complete the adoption process. Three, she could have been honest and said that she didn't think Tex was the right dog for us; and then have helped us find a dog that she felt was a better fit for our family. We have heard nothing more from them today. My concern is that they will think that we will just go away, but I am here to tell you that is NOT the case. Again, I ask you all to continue sharing our story. Our goals are the following: 1) A formal apology and acknowledgment that the adoption process was not handled properly 2) Written confirmation that policies are in place to prevent this from happening to other families; and that volunteers will be assigned adoption cases based on their education and life experience (i.e. generally speaking, a person with no children, formal education in special education/counseling, or life experience with special needs children SHOULD NOT be in charge of the adoption process for families with children (special needs or otherwise). 3) To enlighten other rescue organizations so that they can ensure this type of discrimination is NOT happening in their organization. 4) Remind other parents that they need to thoroughly investigate the rescue shelter and ensure that the organization has the appropriate staff and policies to effectively assess whether or not they have a dog appropriate for your family. I wanted to share a photo with you. This is Sonora sleeping in front of LeeLee's kennel the first night we had her. LeeLee chose to sleep in her kennel and Sonora did not want her to be alone.