Hi everyone, two days ago we celebrated Séamus’ birthday; it was the second one he’s spent without his buddy Mattie. It’s hard, so hard for all of us but I know Séamus feels it most since he and Mattie were inseparable. Last year at this time I know we wished Mattie would be home with us today to celebrate, just as we do with each passing holiday and event.
I still hold out hope that we’ll have our Mattie Cakes home with us next year. Xoxox ~ Deirdre
From Séamus: We are so deeply grateful to all you beautiful K9 Mattie supporters who have sustained our struggle to reunite our family.
Our fundraiser to Bring K9 Mattie Home (on GoFundMe and PayPal) is going strong – more than 70% of the way there, less than $6,500 left to go!
Exactly ten years ago my birthday was in Afghanistan at the height of the war. I have included here a documentary titled Dúshlán that covers some of my service there. It was a big hit in Ireland when it came out in 2012 but few people in the US have seen it.
The film actually had something to do with me getting hired by MSA Security back when it was a good company, in 2013. I was recently married and looking for stable employment which I had not had since coming home from deployment.
I had a friend, also named Séamus, who was the Republic of Ireland’s military attaché at the United Nations. He was friendly with a good guy at MSA. Séamus showed the MSA man Dúshlán, telling him, “Look how good he is with dogs – he’s perfect for your company!”
He was referring to the scenes with me and Molly, as we named her. Molly was incredibly sweet. She was something of a camp follower, attaching herself to the US base. She developed a particular fondness for me. (I wasn’t able to keep her, but I do think about her and am confident she was treated well by the unit that replaced us).
The MSA guy watched it, loved it, and I was hired shortly after that. In the new year of 2014 I travelled up to the training facility in Windsor, CT, for my basic training as an Explosives Detection Canine handler. I was flush with the excitement. We started with some introductory classes by the professional staff of master trainers for several days.
And then came the day my class and I were waiting for, the day to meet the dogs we would be partnered with. A van pulled up with all the dogs-in-training who were staying at the nearby kennel, waiting to be assigned to their new handlers and new homes.
The handlers lined up by the van for their dogs. The staff had already selected for us. One by one, the eager canines jumped out and walked into the building with their new partners.
Then came my turn. “Here you go Séamus. This is Mattie.”
“Whoa!” This furry little black thing bolted out of the cage with the trainer’s hand firmly on the leash; he passed it off to me.
I couldn’t get a good look at her face because she was yanking, pulling, zig-zagging, acting more like the Tasmanian Devil from the Bugs Bunny cartoons than a dog, even after doing her business in the grass.
Mattie seemed smaller than some of the other Labrador Retrievers, but boy did she have energy. I mean like crazy energy. I didn’t know what to make of her.
She jumped up on me. They officially discourage that at training, so the trainer standing nearby told me to give the command ‘off’ or some such thing. I complied; after all, I was the new guy. But I always did love dogs jumping up on me, and in those moments that she stood up on her hind legs with her front paws on my stomach I saw her eyes…
Those eyes, big, brown, glossy, staring dead into my own eyes with some kind of wild and innocent yearning I didn’t quite understand in the moment.
And it was only a moment. But I got a quick glimpse of something deep that was to enrich my life for years to come. Once she got off me, I walked her inside, barely travelling in a straight line. This was gonna be fun.
- That was the first encounter of what was to be a long partnership.
I firmly believe that Mattie and my family have more history yet to make together. It will not end like this, will Mattie being torn away the way she was, and being kept working well past her prime in a secret location to line the pockets of corporate executives who never met Mattie, don’t care about her, and never held a leash in their life.
The values of duty and honor to God, family, and country which motivate my military service are the same ones that motivate my family’s battle to bring our dog back where she belongs.
We will continue on until Mattie comes home and we can move on with our lives. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and GOD BLESS AMERICA XOXO
WAYS TO HELP
1) THE FUNDRAISER. Make a donation to Bring K9 Mattie Home through GoFundMe or PayPal. 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 more than 70% of the way to our goal!! You have truly given us the momentum 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, especially during this crisis. And so 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 have included a few here above in the main body of the update.
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: PWP / MSA Security sends dogs to torture and death in Jordan) 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 & contact info are contained here below.
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 (and the next 4 numbers can also be texted):
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
And of course, we welcome your feedback. Our email is: k9mattie@yahoo.com