Leia's Story

07/04/2025

FYI: July 4th is the day where the most amount of pets go missing. PLEASE TAKE THE APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO KEEP YOUR PETS SAFE!!

🇺🇸 Keep your pets indoors.

🇺🇸 Ensure that they are wearing their tags and that their chips are up-to-date, and trackers are fully charged.

🇺🇸 Use ambient sound to drown out the fireworks: TV, radio, &/or sound machines.

🇺🇸 For nervous dogs, give them CBD treats.

🇺🇸 Place them in a quieter room of the house, with cozy beds and blankets in addition to ambient sound.

🇺🇸 When going potty, use a harness AND a leash in case your pet gets spooked — it happens, even with the most trained dogs — after all, they are animals and will always return to their primal instincts when scared. They can easily slip out of collars which is why harnesses are best.

🇺🇸 And if you decide to use a pet sitter, please do so at your own risk. Share these tips with them, and ensure that they will stay home with them the entire night and will not leave them unattended.

Let’s keep our pets safe this Fourth of July!

06/25/2025

Tomorrow is the 3 year anniversary of Leia’s death…

3 years of living this seemingly never ending nightmare.

But through this nightmare, we helped pass a bill that will support people like us and their pets so that they don’t end up in a similar situation… and that gets to be Leia’s Legacy.

My only prayer now is for the legal journey to come to a close. We deserve to move forward, in peace, no longer looking over our shoulders or waiting for another hit from those responsible. All I want is for our family to be free of this.

I truly believe in the power of prayer. If your intentions are genuine, I’d truly appreciate your prayers. Envision the ending of our legal journey, so we can move forward in peace.

🤍🌈🙏🏽

05/24/2025

HB 285, AKA “Pancho & Leia’s Law” has officially passed the Senate vote with a landslide 31 ‘yes’ to 0 ‘no’!!!⁣
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This bill will add criminal negligence to the existing animal cruelty statute, ensuring greater accountability from pet service businesses. ⁣
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WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? ⁣
Pet service businesses face no legal accountability for negligence—even in cases where they knowingly or intentionally harm or cause the death of an animal. Presently, a business can avoid liability simply by stating, "I didn't mean to." ⁣
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Pancho & Leia’s Law offers greater protection to Texas pets and their families! ⁣
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We’ve officially passed Stage 5 of the bill approval process—and with a landslide of support! ⁣
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✅ Stage 1: Filing the bill.⁣
✅ Stage 2: Out of House Committee.⁣
✅ Stage 3: Voted on by House.⁣
✅ Stage 4: Out of Senate Committee.⁣
✅ Stage 5: Voted on by Senate.⁣
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next… ⁣
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Stage 6: Governor action.⁣
Stage 7: Bill becomes law.⁣
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Thank you to all of our bill authors: ⁣
Rep. Claudia Ordaztx⁣
Rep. jeff Leach⁣
Rep. Morgan Meyer⁣
Rep. Joe Moody ⁣
Rep. David Cook⁣
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Thank you to all of those who support our bill in the House. ⁣
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And THANK YOU to Maria & Paul Mecca for courageously leading this bill after tragically losing their beloved dog, Pancho. ⁣
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We’re not yet at the finish line but we are getting close to getting Pancho & Leia’s Law passed in 2025!!⁣
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This is for , , , , , and so many other dogs and their families. ⁣
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𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗛𝗢’𝗦 𝗟𝗔𝗪 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗕𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗪!!!⁣
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Office of the Governor Greg Abbott, THANK YOU in advance! We are holding the prayer for a safer future for Texas dogs and their families⁣ 🙏🏽🤍⁣
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04/30/2025

PANCHO & LEIA’S LAW (HB 285) is set for a House vote today and tomorrow (May1 & 2)!!
Please send out good energy and prayers for our bill to go through! 🙏🏽🤍🙏🏽

🥳 And just like that, HB 285 (aka Pancho & Leia’s Law) has now made it to the House floor!⁣
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We are set for an official House vote on Thursday, May 1, and Friday, May 2!!⁣
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We realize that many of you have questions so we wanted to take a moment to clarify the process of passing a bill. ⁣
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All proposed bills must pass through multiple stages… ⁣
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✅ Stage 1: Filing the bill.⁣
✅ Stage 2: Out of House Committee.⁣
🙏🏽 Stage 3: Voted on by House.⁣
Stage 4: Out of Senate Committee.⁣
Stage 5: Voted on by Senate.⁣
Stage 6: Governor action.⁣
Stage 7: Bill becomes law.⁣
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We are currently at stage 3 and are hopeful due to the amount of support we’ve received.⁣
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For those of you who aren’t familiar with Pancho & Leia’s Law…⁣
⁣
HB 285 will add negligence to the current animal cruelty statute, which will help to ensure greater accountability from pet service businesses, protecting Texas pets and their families. See our last few posts for more details on this important bill.⁣
⁣
Thank you so much for your continued love, support, and prayers. Keep it coming!! This is a HUGE week for Pancho & Leia’s Law!!⁣
⁣
And stay tuned for more updates on possible ways to support our bill.⁣

This isn’t just for Pancho and Leia…
This is for ALL Texan pets and their families!
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🥹🙏🏽🥳⁣
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04/29/2025

🥳 And just like that, HB 285 (aka Pancho & Leia’s Law) has now made it to the House floor!⁣
⁣
We are set for an official House vote on Thursday, May 1, and Friday, May 2!!⁣
⁣
We realize that many of you have questions so we wanted to take a moment to clarify the process of passing a bill. ⁣
⁣
All proposed bills must pass through multiple stages… ⁣
⁣
✅ Stage 1: Filing the bill.⁣
✅ Stage 2: Out of House Committee.⁣
🙏🏽 Stage 3: Voted on by House.⁣
Stage 4: Out of Senate Committee.⁣
Stage 5: Voted on by Senate.⁣
Stage 6: Governor action.⁣
Stage 7: Bill becomes law.⁣
⁣
We are currently at stage 3 and are hopeful due to the amount of support we’ve received.⁣
⁣
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Pancho & Leia’s Law…⁣
⁣
HB 285 will add negligence to the current animal cruelty statute, which will help to ensure greater accountability from pet service businesses, protecting Texas pets and their families. See our last few posts for more details on this important bill.⁣
⁣
Thank you so much for your continued love, support, and prayers. Keep it coming!! This is a HUGE week for Pancho & Leia’s Law!!⁣
⁣
And stay tuned for more updates on possible ways to support our bill.⁣

This isn’t just for Pancho and Leia…
This is for ALL Texan pets and their families!
⁣
🥹🙏🏽🥳⁣
⁣

04/28/2025

🎉𝗔 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗛𝗕 𝟮𝟴𝟱…⁣
⁣
HB 285 passed with a unanimous vote in the criminal jurisprudence committee!⁣

This bill will add negligence to the current animal cruelty statute, which will help to ensure greater accountability from pet service businesses, protecting Texas consumers and their beloved pets.
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NEXT STOP 👉🏽 Calendars Committee, followed by the House floor.⁣
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For those of you asking how you can support…⁣
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Please know that right now, we are working internally with the House representatives to get this to the floor for a vote.⁣
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The best way to support us at this time is to continue spreading awareness of this issue and our bill! ⁣
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🥳 We’re getting so close…
Thank you for your continued love and support! ⁣
⁣
⁣

04/01/2025

👇🏽𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪👇🏽⁣
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Under current Texas law, pet service businesses face NO legal accountability for negligence—even in cases where they knowingly or intentionally harm or cause the death of an animal. ⁣
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😮 Presently, a business can avoid liability simply by stating, “𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰.” ⁣
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😭 This legal gap leaves pet owners without meaningful recourse and pets without adequate protection.⁣
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Adding the phrase “or with criminal negligence” to the existing animal cruelty statute will ensure greater accountability from pet service businesses, protecting Texas consumers and their beloved pets. ⁣
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𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝟮𝟴𝟱, 𝗔𝗞𝗔 “𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼’𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘄.”⁣
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🙌🏽 By updating this law, Texas families will gain a clear course of action in cases of negligence or harm. ⁣
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🙏🏽 A change in Texas laws will also set a precedent for other states to follow.⁣
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As pet service businesses become aware of this increased accountability, it will encourage them to operate with greater responsibility, ultimately protecting pets and their owners statewide.⁣
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But we need your help.⁣
We need to hear your story.⁣
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👉🏽 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬:⁣
https://findleia.com/share-your-story/⁣
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🥲 And if you’re feeling brave enough to read the stories we’ve collected so far, 𝘁𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸:⁣
https://findleia.com/share-your-story/ -story⁣
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Thank you so much!⁣ We’re so close to getting this bill passed in September 2025! ⁣
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Together, we will create change 🫶🏽🥹⁣

PLEASE SHARE THIS POST!
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P.S. ⁣
Follow us on Instagram:⁣
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03/26/2025

FYI: New page name = Leia's Story 🤍

03/25/2025

𝗔 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲:⁣
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This is our first update in over a year, and we’d like to begin by saying THANK YOU for your continued love, support, and patience as our legal journey continues. ⁣
⁣
With this update, we intend to address a few key things that will help shed light on why this journey is ongoing and why we’ve chosen to be more private with it. ⁣
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We will share what we can (i.e., what you can find if you do a little googling online), as well as a couple of key ways in which you can continue to support us. ⁣
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So, let’s dive in… ⁣
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲,⁣
https://www.leiasstory.com⁣
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🐾⁣

12/18/2023

They say that time heals all wounds… yet grief is an emotion that is difficult to shake because it’s connected to love.⁣
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲.⁣
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Leia, what happened to you was horrific and cruel and could have been easily avoided. But it happened, and unfortunately Luke was witness to it all.⁣
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As your Momma, I am so sorry. ⁣
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I am sorry for what you AND Luke endured that day. ⁣
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I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shake off the images in my head, nor will I ever be able to look at Luke again without apologizing to him.⁣
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Our entire journey has been a nightmare that will impact the rest of our lives…⁣
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But this is why I choose to speak up and share your story because in doing so, I truly believe that we can help change regulations for dog care providers so that other dogs and dog families can feel safe and be better protected than we’ve been.⁣
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Leia, we’re so sorry. ⁣
Please forgive us. ⁣
We’ll always love you.⁣
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Luke, we’re so sorry.⁣
Please forgive us.⁣
We love you.⁣
And thank you for being the most forgiving and loving boy. You are such a blessing.⁣
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💔🙏🏽🌈⁣
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