Sign petition to save Caledon disabled child mini pony

I already blogged about this story and you can find the post here.

Anyway for the lazy ones here’s the summary. In Caledon, Canada, there’s this 3yo child Sam who was born with cerebral palsy. Sam’s a wonderful family and has a Emily, his miniature pony friend he’s so attached to. Emily’s also part of his therapy know as horse therapy or hippotherapy. Sam’s doesn’t live in a flat but in one acre (4046.8564224 bloody m2) house that borders a cattle farm. Well, some neighbours complaint that the pony smells and the Town Council or Law Enforcement or whatever found the bureaucratic quibble to evict Sam’s companion.

Given that Antonia’s about to stand in front of the-1000CAN$-worth Caledon Committee Of Adjustments, she’s working to rise a sorta mass effect over the web (as well as local and national) to see if humanity, ethics and common sense have still some value for some people. I mean, I know that there are rules and laws but men, to tear a 3 years old disabled child from his beloved pony is something worth starring with the DC or Marvel SuperEvil of the year!

There’s a petition online to ask the Caledon Committee Of Adjustments to accept Antonia’s request for letting the pony stay in the property as she’s not livestock but pet and therapist for Sam.

You can find the petition here and here below the text.

To: Caledon Committee Of Adjustments

We the undersigned implore the Caledon, Ontario Committee Of Adjustments to find in favor of the Spiteri Family in housing “Emily” (their miniature pony) on their property who has been living on the property within the community of Caledon for the last three years. We urge them to show Empathy and Compassion for the family and understand the reasons for Emily residing on said property is solely for the benefit of Sam who resides at the family home (on said property).

Sam is diagnosed with Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and has been using Emily for therapeutic purpose for the last 3 years. The pony is a help animal for a child with a disability. Just as guide dogs are allowed in public places restricted to other dogs, the Spiteri’s pony should be allowed to stay on their property. This is not just the beloved pet of a small child – the pony is required for Sam’s therapy for cerebral palsy.

The pony has therapeutic use. It is not “livestock” in the true sense of the word. It is not being reared in an agricultural setting to make food or fiber or perform labour for sustenance or material profit. It is a help animal. It is a friend for Sam and a therapy for his disability. The bylaw should not apply.

Sincerely,

The Spiteri Family

Here’s the link to Antonia’s Save Sam Spiteri Pony group on Facebook where you can find more information about the situation and upcoming Committee of Adjustments meeting.

Here’s some links about the value of hippotherapy

http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/

http://www.narha.org/

http://www.frdi.net/

Town and neighbours to deprive 3yo disabled boy of his pony

I want to report what I read today following a Boing Boing suggestion by the newsletter I receive on daily basis. This led me reading an article on the National Post, Posted Toronto website which I further delved into on the Caledon Enterprise.

What I read is something that, as father of a 16 months old boy, I am especially sensitive to. It is also something which appeals to some of the most basic civil concepts as well as to a compassion feeling that should be a common base to all human beings. Of course that isn’t the case and this is especially true when we see something like this taking place in one of those countries we include within the list of the more advanced and civilized ones. This is also a pilot light about how many injustices are in the world which are just there, awaiting to be eradicated.

The story is simple. Little Sam, 3yo boy living in Caledon Town, Ontario, Canada, is born with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Sam can’t walk or crawl and when he was younger he also suffered from lung problems which can make him prone to possible infection. The boy suffers also from seizures.

To all this suffering Sam has only one thing, apart from his mother and grandparents, that bring joy to his difficult life: his mini pony Emily who’s a gift from Sam’s grandfather.

Sam rides Emily and he’s happy, I imagine him dominating the world from the height of his pony friend. She holds him on his back from which he can feel freedom in a world where he can’t move the way a boy of his age would like to do. I can understand deeply in my heart what he feels because I know how much my son, Robert, like to move, run, crawl and twirls like a little Tasman devil.

Now it comes the harsh news. Antonia Spiteri who’s the mother of Sam, received a notice from the Town that, due to neighbours complaints and a so called out-of-the-law usage of her own property,  Emily must be removed. It seems that Antonia’s neighbours find the smell of Emily a severe threat to their life standards and the Town finds unacceptable to maintain a mini pony (called livestock) on a one acre property that borders a cattle farm.

Antonia, who is a single mom living with her parents, is struggling to avoid her son to be separated from Emily. Sam is really attached to the pony and Antonia says that he cries when they take him off the pony, even if he’s tired. More of a friend Emily is also part of a therapy for Sam whose core muscles need to be strengthen. Sam’s mother has already begun to show her son the possibility that the pony could go away. So Sam gets very upset every time they take him off Emily because he fear he will not see her again.

Antonia’s going to discuss this issue to the Caledon committee of adjustment on Dec. 10. This procedure will cost her something about 1000 Canadian Dollars which are something about 650 Euro. It’sis really frustrating and absurd and tragically ridiculous that besides his serious conditions Sam, who’s only 3 years old,  must also face the cruelty of neighbours and the stupidity of bureaucracy.

I just want to spread the voice about this situation. I only ask you to send an e-mail to Antonia to let Sam and her your support. They need it for sure. Her e-mail is:

If you also want to send a message of concern to the Caledon city council you will find the e-mail contacts to this page of the town website.