Update: We Will Not Go Quietly

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photo from google images

First of all, let me say that I am absolutely blown away, humbled, and amazed at the incredible support we've gotten from...well...everybody! I have said so many times that the autism community is one of the most supportive and loyal groups of people I've ever seen. It's a phenomenon, really. And it is being proven as we speak write.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to read our story, We Will Not Go Quietly. Thank you for sharing it with anyone who will stand still long enough to read it, thank you for the tweets, posts, and forwards. One of the moms in our group of ten families has come across two news stories in Colorado and Boston that involve service dog fraud. So this is definitely a story that needs national media attention.

If this story has touched your heart or touched a nerve, please continue to share it and retweet it.  Please e-mail it to those you think might be able to help bring attention to it.  Tweet @ celebrities.  Tweet @ news reporters.

Speaking of news coverage, Mike Brooks, a reporter at WICS ABC 20 out of Springfield, IL has really stepped up and gotten the media ball rolling.  You can see the news reports here: Tuesday and here: Friday.  There will also be more media coverage in the Seattle area scheduled for Monday.  I'll be sure to post those links, as well.

I would also like to say a great big thank you to so many bloggers who are using their sites to raise awareness of this situation and share our story.  Here are a few links:

• Mommy Rambles: We Drink Coke Now; Even More Pepsi Mess with News clip
• Making Waves: Pepsi, Autism Service Animals and Shattered Dreams; Shattered Dreams, part 2; Shattered Dreams, part 3; Autism Service Animals for All or Something Like That
• Animals for Autism (the good guys): Service Dog Search Gone Bad; Even a Great Cause May Be Warped
• Babble.com: Hey Pepsi!
• Liz Ditz: Another Fleecing of the Autism Community, Service Dog Edition

Thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers for all the families involved in this mess.  There are a total of 13 of us as you'll see from some of the more clearly laid out posts above.  Please feel free to ask questions, share your opinions, or share links that I'm not aware of. 

These families have formed a bond that is unlike anything I've ever seen.  I know I speak for all of them when I tell you how much we appreciate the incredible words of encouragement and support we've seen.  Fighting to be heard is an exhausting process that, as a few of the families can testify, can take many months.  It often seems that just when we feel so tired of the lies and the stress and the negativity, something encouraging happens.  A cyber hug from across the globe, or a supportive blog or facebook post, or even just a few retweets on our behalf.  Things that may seem so simple really and truly do make a world of difference to these families and give us a push to keep going.

So thank you!  Thank you so very much to those of you who have so graciously stepped up and said, "I have your back.  I'm on your side.  We stand together."  When you share in the battle, you share in the victory!