Last year my Cousin, who is a Principal at Archdale Elementary School, asked me to come sing for the students there. They came in a room to listen to me sing, in groups of 20, from Kindergarten to 5th grade, for Arts Day. I wasn't sure prior to getting there what I would be singing. Since I write so many songs, when I perform, I usually do the latest ones I've written. At that time, I had just written a song about a dog on a chain. It was written during one of the many of countless, sleepless nights I experienced, agonizing over a neighbor's chained dog. When I sang for the kids that day, I had it in my mind that the kids would likely say to themselves, “She is no Taylor Swift.” I prepared myself for a very stoic & bored response, because kids have so much shock value in their choices of entertainment these days. I sang a song or two, which ones I can't remember, and then I sang the song about the dog on a chain. Each time I finished a song, I would look up at the children, tell them a little bit about songwriting, some of my travels, and ask them if they had any questions. When I finished the song about the dog on a chain, I DID NOT EXPECT to look up, and see every child in that room, crying. Some were sobbing. For every one of the groups that came in that day, until I had performed that song for the entire school, there was a river of tears. At one point my cousin came in and said “What have you done to these children?” One teacher actually gave me the snake eye, but most were open to the fact that children need to be encouraged to release their emotions. Who knows which if any of the children that day, had chained dogs in their own yards, perhaps forgotten & neglected. Some may have just never given it a thought, and cried at the thought that people can be so cruel. Regardless, & my point here is this: Should we, the grownups that are now leading the world, and the changes around us......should we be teaching the children of today, that when we see abuse going on, even if it is a dog, we should look the other way? Should we look the other way, and set that example? Or should we try to make this change, and teach them that it is not ok to neglect & abuse an animal. It is hard to teach children, the future citizens that will take leadership of our country, that it is not ok to neglect an animal, while the ordinances, rules & laws say otherwise. For a child that belongs to a parent who chains their dog 24/7, should we just let this kid sit there and cry, and teach them that this is how the world should be? I think an Ordinance would again, not solve this entirely, but if hesitant to pass this, please think of all the crying children that day, and all kids, as they learn how to treat others while growing up in a world full of more challenges than ever before. A child who learns to care properly for an animal, will learn a valuable way of life, and lessons about treating others, that will follow them into the grave. Speaking to you as an Artist who has overcome tremendous challenges, as any Artist does, but having worked SO HARD to gain the fans & followers I have, I really debated of whether or not to record that song on my latest album. UNTIL I sang it at the school that day. The tears of the children convinced me that any fan I lost was worth losing. PLEASE visit your local lawmakers & make this change in your Community today. READ & SHARE THE PETITION for pointers on HOW to make this change in your area!