Cyndi Wells/Courtesy photo

BY KELLY DOLEJSI
Friends of Los Alamos Pride

Two successful Pride Weeks and one pandemic later, Pride Week returns to Los Alamos June 5-13. This year’s theme is “Coming Out After Covid.” This is the second in a series of mini-profiles that aims to highlight as many gay-friendly local businesses as possible. Please email kdolejsi@gmail.com if you own a business or run an organization and want to extend your support to Los Alamos Pride Week. Regardless of whether you own a business, please follow Los Alamos Pride on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Friends-of-Los-Alamos-Pride-189623935011756) and Los Alamos Pride Week on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/losalamosprideweek/) to learn more about upcoming events.

Pets are only one part of the community that Cyndi Wells, owner of Pet Pangea, champions.

“We support Pride because it is important that everyone feels accepted and can live life without fear,” Wells said. “Pride is an opportunity to celebrate our diversity and what makes us all the same. Anyone can have kindness in their heart and be a good soul.”

Pride Week Los Alamos “gives an opportunity for the whole community to listen and show support. In Los Alamos, many [LGBTQ+ people] may feel isolated. The sense of community created by an event is important. Sadly, violence, threats, and harassment still occur against the LGBT+ community and can happen even here. Bringing awareness to the struggles faced in the LGBT+ community helps us all.”

Wells said that while Pride is a time for all of us “to pause and reflect on our own actions and policies and look for places to improve … It’s important that our support be year-round.”

Pet Pangea staff will undergo additional training as part of Pride to ensure her workplace welcomes and offers the same opportunities to all, Wells said.