There are nearly 400,000 children living without permanent homes in the US and we would like to help make a difference for one of them. My husband and I are proud parents of a two-year-old girl named ​Emily who is the apple of our eye. But we have always wanted a larger family. There is more love within the four walls of our house and we have decided to add another member to our family so they too can be a part of a loving, nurturing home. This time we have decided to adopt.

But according to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF)​, we are unfit parents. This is because, apart from being mom and dad to Emily, we are also the proud parents of a dog, Astro who happens to be part of a group of breeds that the DCF has banned (Rottweiler, Pit Bull or German Shepard dog, or a mixture of the these three breeds).

Because of our dog’s breed, we are not allowed to adopt a child under the age of 12. This policy is ridiculous at best and ineffective at worst. In fact, a recent survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association covering 40 years and two continents concluded that no group of dogs should be considered disproportionately dangerous. And studies on Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) around the world have found that it does nothing to reduce the frequency of dog bites.

Please join me in asking the MA Department of Children and Families to change this nonsensical policy. We should be judged on our ability to provide a good home for a child in need, not on the breed of our dog.

Our dog ​Astro is the kindest, sweetest animal​, ​gets along great with our own biological daughter and has been behaviorally & temperament assessed to be great with children of all ages​. Why would we be considered fit to raise Emily but unfit to offer the same love to an adopted child?

In 2012, Massachusetts banned breed specific legislation in the state. Government officials realized that BSL did more harm than good, and that it was based on bad science and stereotypes about the behavior of certain dogs. So if the state has banned BSL, how can DCF, a Massachusetts government agency,  get away with using this policy to deny us and a young child the chance to be a family? This policy is based on bad science and is standing in the way of a child finding a good, loving home.

Please join me and tell Massachusetts DCF to end their BSL so that my family and others like mine can have the chance to adopt children in need.