From Séamus: My family would like to wish everyone a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Lá Fheil’ Pádraig Sona daoibh!! To lift everybody’s spirit, I would like to share with you wonderful K9 Mattie supporters a bit of fun, or craic as we call it in Irish. Here is a clip of me speaking on Fox & Friends about the history of America’s oldest and largest parade and the role of my military unit, the legendary Fighting 69th.
This is a most unusual St. Patrick’s Day in New York City because of the coronavirus crisis. In a normal year, I would have read in the Irish language at the mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral; at this very time of day I would be marching up 5th Avenue with the Fighting 69th at the head of the parade. But with civil authorities enacting measures to combat the spread of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), all festivities have been called off until we make it through the pandemic.
Nevertheless, the true spirit of this special day forms a cornerstone of the values I hold dear throughout the year. This spirit – with an underlying message of duty and honor – motivates my family’s uncompromising fight to Bring K9 Mattie Home.
Let me explain a bit about this. The 69th Infantry of the NY Army National Guard was founded in 1849 by Irish immigrants who brought with them their Celtic spirit of fighting for freedom and gave it as a gift, sealed in blood, to the American Republic. “From Bull Run to Baghdad”, the Fighting 69th is credited with fighting in more battles than any Regiment in US history.
Our motto is suggested by the qualities of that most noble breed of dog which serves as the mascot of the 69th, the Irish Wolfhound. It encapsulates the spirit that spurs us to action in times of distress: Caomh Faoi Mholadh, Borb Faoi Mhaslú, that is, “GENTLE WHEN STROKED, FIERCE WHEN PROVOKED”.
In other words, we are by nature peaceful. But if you subject us or our loved ones to injustice or abuse, well then, watch out, because we will fight to the ends of the earth to right the wrong and will not stop till the good guys are victorious.
An American soldier and his wife – PWP / MSA Security did not know what kind of spirited people they made enemies of by their utter contempt and disregard for our service to the country, our dog, and our family.
PWP / MSA Security made a dreadful miscalculation when they took Mattie from our family, her family. It does not look good for them, nor should it. As of yet, they have not publicly acknowledged any wrongdoing. However, I suspect (on good evidence that I cannot reveal) that a number of the corporate bosses regret it. A large part of that is YOU reaching out to them – thank you!
I earnestly pray that this regret, even if it’s self-serving on their end, translates into action to correct their gravely unethical actions.
We propose that they do the right thing by letting us buy Mattie back. We are at just about two-thirds of the way to our fundraiser goal for this purpose (also on PayPal), and will approach the company with the support of our elected representatives once we are at or near our goal. It would be an even better outcome if PWP / MSA just gave Mattie back to us and allowed us to use the purchase cost as a medical fund to care for our senior K9, our beloved Mattie who is still working well past her prime. It is within their power to do that.
And it would be appropriate, and we would be pleasantly surprised, if the company apologized for the turmoil they put us through. That would be the decent thing to do. But I’m not holding my breath.
Let’s not forget other immoral activities PWP / MSA recently engaged in; we must hold them accountable. For instance, Dr. Karen Iovino exposed PWP / MSA Security secretly sending dogs to abuse and death in Jordan and other countries in the Middle East in a taxpayer funded program. The company turned her life upside down in retaliation. (Read: PWP / MSA Security sends dogs to torture and death in Jordan) You can read about Joe Tallini’s heartbreaking experience with the company here: PWP / MSA Security takes dog from family with developmentally disabled son.
We are fighting this billionaire corporation because WE JUST WANT OUR DOG BACK. So we will carry on standing up for right against wrong, for good against evil. This is the spirit of the Fighting 69th, the TRUE SPIRIT of St. Patrick’s Day. We will continue on until Mattie comes home and we can move on with our lives.
In the meantime, dear K9 Mattie supporters, stay safe; we pray for the health and well being of all of you in this difficult period of time for our country and our world. And a very Blessed St. Patrick's Day to all of you.
WAYS TO HELP
1) THE FUNDRAISER. Make a donation to Bring K9 Mattie Home through GoFundMe or PayPal. We are just about two-thirds of the way to our goal! Every penny goes to Mattie. We are offering to buy her back from the company for their stated price of what it cost to train Mattie, along with any associated costs. In addition, MSA has a habit of legally turning over the dogs to their handlers when the dogs are physically broken down. All medical expenses have to be borne by the handler’s family. Maybe it’s not right, but that’s how they work.
Today we stand at 66% of our goal!! We are getting close faster than we imagined xoxoxo
2) CONTACTING THE PWP / MSA BOSSES. Send an email or give a call or text to the corporate bosses through the means of contact listed below.
They don’t know how to handle you; they know the public eye is on them. Every email, text, and phone call counts.
*NOTE* These guys listed here are the head honchos, but the list is not exhaustive – many other PWP and MSA contacts can be found through your favorite search engine (Google, Bing, etc.). We don’t list them all here because our email updates would end up being too long, but please feel free to contact anyone else at the company you can find!
3) SPREAD THE WORD! If share what you think of MSA and PWP on Google Reviews, or simply tell your friends and family, I believe the positive effect would end up being exponential.
And since MSA-trained K9s being sent overseas to terrible fates (read here) is a matter of national public interest and your tax dollars, contact your Congress members – Representatives and Senators – about the fraud that PWP / MSA Security is pulling on the American people.
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Relevant links and contact info are contained here below. THANK YOU ALL, GOD BLESS AMERICA XOXO
We would be so deeply thankful if you would consider making a donation to our fundraiser to Bring K9 Mattie Home: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bring-k9-mattie-home
If you prefer to donate through PayPal, here's our link: https://www.paypal.me/seamusk9
And please let MSA & PWP know how you feel about this! Direct contact has a positive impact. CONTACT INFO (you can also text the next four people):
CEO Glen Kucera (the man who made the decision to take Mattie away), 973-981-1275;gkucera@msasecurity.net
Chairman Mike O’Neil (the company’s public face), 516-491-9721; moneil@msasecurity.net
VP of Global Operations Justin Kelley (the guy in charge of all MSA K9s in the world), 860-559-9208; jkelley@msasecurity.net
K9 Training Director Mike Wynn (the person who moved Mattie across the country, out of spite, to keep her from her family), 917-923-5508; mwynn@msasecurity.net or msak9@msasecurity.net
The Perella Weinberg people who own MSA keep themselves relatively insulated; they are billionaires after all. So while we don't have their direct numbers, here are the emails of the fellas who oversee MSA:
Chip Baird,cbaird@pwpartners.com
David Ferguson, dferguson@pwpartners.com
John McKee, jmckee@pwpartners.com
Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) main number, 212-287-3341 (Heads up: PWP falsely claims that Mattie is an MSA internal issue, that they have nothing to do with it. This is false - they are intimately involved with MSA's operations!).
MSA Security main number, 212-509-1336
As always, we encourage and welcome your feedback. Our email is: k9mattie@yahoo.com