Pet Harmony is a business that is co-owned by women who are either biracial, queer, neurodivergent, and/or live with chronic illnesses. Despite the ways in which we are marginalized, we also acknowledge the many ways in which we are privileged and benefit from inequitable societal infrastructures, both current and past. We are committed to learning about the complex social issues which impact people from backgrounds and experiences that differ from our own, and then applying what we learn to our business to make it as equitable and inclusive as possible. We actively work to prioritize impact over intent.
Pet Harmony welcomes, includes, and values all voices within the context of the paradox of tolerance. This means that we welcome voices of all different races, ethnicities, nationalities, faiths, sexual orientations, genders, abilities, ages, and socioeconomic statuses and we do not tolerate racism, racial prejudice, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, or classism.
The following are the ways in which we actively work to practice equity and inclusivity in both our business and our personal lives. We also welcome and encourage feedback which can help us to continue to improve and grow. We acknowledge that implementing equitable and inclusive practices is an ongoing, iterative process.
financial accessibility
For our professional services, we offer DEI, Hardship, and GDP (for international colleagues who live in countries where the cost of living is disproportionate to the cost of services provided in the United States) scholarships on an as-available basis.
PHYSICAL AND NEURODIVERSE ACCESSIBILITY
We work to make our services and resources available in a variety of ways that can accommodate a wide spectrum of physical and neurological abilities. When that support is not possible within our business structure, we make every effort to provide alternative resources that individuals can utilize on their end.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We recognize that the business owners of Pet Harmony are on the unceded territory of Duwamish, Skykomish, Snoqualmie, Potawatomi, Chippewa, and Ottawa tribes and we pay respect to their elders past and present.
We acknowledge the many legacies of violence, displacement, and silencing that have occurred not only throughout the history of the colonization of this continent but also through the current, ongoing imperialism of our country towards all the First Nations. We also grieve with them over the unchecked and underinvestigated violence that continues to be perpetuated against them. We make these acknowledgements as a step towards dismantling these harmful legacies and with a commitment to social justice.
INTENTIONAL ENGAGEMENT
We are committed to using our privilege to support, uplift, amplify, listen to, and learn from marginalized voices. We do this in many ways, including donating our time and/or money to the following organizations:
- Big Brothers Big Sisters
- Reclaim Justice Movement
- Choose 180
- Native Hope
- Real Rent
- United We Dream
- NARAL Pro-Choice America
- Innocence Project
- The Paper Ceiling
You can learn more about each organization and get involved by clicking on the links above.
GROWTH MINDSET AND INTELLECTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY
We are committed to a growth mindset (as defined by Dr. Carol Dweck in her book Mindset) and staying up to date with current research and techniques for best practices.
We practice intellectual accountability by remaining open to feedback and exercising critical thinking skills to evaluate the validity of the information we receive. This process is called epistemology. We do this to mitigate the harm of misinformation so that our practices can be as ethical, effective, and efficient as possible.
“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.”
– Daniel Boorstin
Special thanks and acknowledgement to Hannah Sigel of Baltimore K9 Tutors for letting us use her Values page as a model, including the direct use of some of her phrasing.