Who Whitby the Dog Lover

[whitby_2773]

and here is an english chanpion from the cormallen kennels. you can see the similarities - square overall body shape, broad head, long leg etcetc.

 

[whitby_2773]

and here are some photos of the other line.....

dog on the right looks more like a spaniel than a setter - ears way too long. dog on left you can see is more a rectangular shape, which gives them a ''low to the ground slinking'' kind of look when they move. too short in the leg, not a powerful or elegant looking dog.

 

[whitby_2773]

i dont even know where to start with this one. terrible top line, thin head with an insufficient stop to his forehead, course coat with horrible markings, just appalling angles to his front legs...and so on and so on. this dog is a champion. which should tell you the sort of idiocy we''re up against some times.

 

[jet2ks]

Those are IRWS's?!?!? I've never seen a good one in person, but those two are way too spaniel like. The one on the right could easily be mistaken for an English Springer if not for the coloring. Wrong muzzle shape and ears for any pointing breed.

EDT: I had a professional handler once tell me that nearly any dog could become a champion just by putting them in front of enough poor judges--it appears he was right.

 

[whitby_2773]

this dog is much too stiff looking. his angles are too acute and his is boxy looking. he doesnt have the relaxed, graceful look a judge is supposed to look for in a red and white. his head is thin - insufficient jaw, the development of his back end is very inadequate, meaning his movement will be weak as he has no back end drive, i dislike his overly long ears and feel also that his tail is set too high - there''s meant to be a curve from back down to butt/tail. his front legs are mUCH too straight, giving him a rigid appearance and his shoulders are not adequately laid back.

 

[whitby_2773]

(all these dogs are champions, by the way...)

this last one is just an example of an ugly head. just simply not enough bone. not enough jaw, too narrow, not enough forehead. the coat is problematic, too - more brown than red and course as opposed to silky (which it''s supposed to be)

 

[whitby_2773]

so there you have it. these are the sort of dogs, one of which beat dixon on the weekend. the the US is FULL of them. breeders keep good dogs - so it was only the scrappers, the leftovers, to some extent, that were sent over originally. and a LOT of inbreeding went on. the problem is now, tho, that judges are so used to see this sort of thing, that when a true champion like dixon is in front of them, they just dont know what to do with him. they dont know what a proper IRWS is supposed to look like, so they think these dogs are the standard. and on paper, they DO meet the standard.

some people just dont recognize beauty. and dixon is nothing if not beautiful.

jet2ks and ara ann - i hope this kind of gave a rough drawing of the breed - both good and bad.

and we''re not concerned. dixon will make a huge name for himself in the US. good judges will come out and he''ll make an impact sooner or later; apart from anything else, he''s too well known in canada to be ignored in the US for long.

 

[jet2ks]

Thanks for the tutorial, whitby.

I''m still shaking my head at the next to last dog. 2nd in group? What the . . . . ? OK, you can officially win breed if you are the only dog, but group placement?!?!?!? There is no way that dog has the athleticism required of any sporting breed. I guarantee he bounces when moving. The shallow front and no muscle to drive in the rear cannot produce good movement. And what is up with the topline--shouldn''t it be a nice slope like every other pointing breed?

I understand your frustration even better now. I''ve seen some bad Brits win, but nothing like these.

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 5/8/2009 12:43:23 PM
Author: jet2ks
Thanks for the tutorial, whitby.


I''m still shaking my head at the next to last dog. 2nd in group? What the . . . . ? OK, you can officially win breed if you are the only dog, but group placement?!?!?!? There is no way that dog has the athleticism required of any sporting breed. I guarantee he bounces when moving. The shallow front and no muscle to drive in the rear cannot produce good movement. And what is up with the topline--shouldn''t it be a nice slope like every other pointing breed?


I understand your frustration even better now. I''ve seen some bad Brits win, but nothing like these.

agreed - on all points! (like - really!!) (tears hair out, makes disgusted noises)

however....

arent bennie, dixon and the cormallen dog GORGEOUS?? that''s why we got into this breed; there''s nothing more beautiful than a good IRWS.

 

[jet2ks]

Date: 5/8/2009 12:49:29 PM
Author: whitby_2773

arent bennie, dixon and the cormallen dog GORGEOUS?? that''s why we got into this breed; there''s nothing more beautiful than a good IRWS.

Except maybe a good Brit

They are great looking dogs and why I would consider one in the future, depending on how the breed grows through the US.

Are you using Dixon as a stud to get any future champions?

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 5/8/2009 12:54:53 PM
Author: jet2ks

Date: 5/8/2009 12:49:29 PM

Author: whitby_2773


arent bennie, dixon and the cormallen dog GORGEOUS?? that''s why we got into this breed; there''s nothing more beautiful than a good IRWS.

Except maybe a good Brit

They are great looking dogs and why I would consider one in the future, depending on how the breed grows through the US.


Are you using Dixon as a stud to get any future champions?

we''re certainly willing to, tho not while we''re still actively showing him. as well as being willing to use him, we also have him on ice. we''ll probably breed him to our bitch, poppy, at some point.

fun and games!

 

[Ara Ann]

Thanks for the education ladies! I had no idea that judges weren''t ''experts'' in all dog breeds! It makes more sense that they would make errors, but even I can see a big difference in the pics as well...Dixon is a much more handsome dog (I love his pose on the table, he looks SO proud and happy!)...and you are right, the others look like a spaniel breed! I would mistake them for a spaniel too.

I love to watch the Westminster Dog shows on Animal Planet (my son does too)...and now I will have a better idea about those judges...not what I had thought at all!


I hope you continue to have success with Dixon, Whitby! Keep us posted on his progress!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 3/9/2009 3:52:29 PM
Author: whitby_2773

we intend to be here for many years, have bought a home in westchester county, the first county north of NYC, and i'm hoping to go for citizenship (dual - will retain my australian citizenship also) when it comes time in 4 years.

Your new best friend (baking thread, if you have a short memory) wonders if you would have taken Cookie when she was desperately looking for a home for him and you were right there in Westchester County!!!

Deb, who was then in Riverside (part of Greenwich)

 

[whitby_2773]

hallo deb

and yes, i remember who my friends are - always - especially when it involves sticky cake!!

re cookie - no, i wouldn''t have taken him. let me explain why. i believe that dogs are members of the family and need to be treated as such. i have 3 setters, and i am stretched re dog care as it is. i would have desperately wanted to have helped you - and him, even more to the point - but it''s dangerous when people let emotions rule them when it comes to decisions about animals, especially dogs, which are such a high maintenance animal. so i''d like to think i would have had the sense to say no. but i would have bent over backwards to have found a good home for him - a home like mine, where he would have been a member of the family. my other issue is that he is too small for this house. my dogs are rough! they play hard, and small canine people tend to get bowled over and handled too roughly. mine cant help it - together my red and whites weigh 120lbs, and my english is another 50lbs. and they play in unison, so cookie would have had a miserable time here. this would not have been the home for him. but i would have found SOME way to help, deb, and i would have done that. i love dogs more than people, i think, and i dont let them ''dangle in the wind'' so to speak when they need help. i just don''t. so i would have found something useful to do, and i would have done that. have you had contact with the family that has him now? i know you had a little - but has it been ongoing? i''d ask for photos, if it was me.

now. more to the point. can you update me on what happened with you daughter pls? i''m a developmental psychologist - and i read all the thread on cookie, so got a feel for what was happening in your home. can you tell me where you are with it now? i''ve been thinking of you a lot...

 

[AGBF]

Date: 5/9/2009 11:15:58 AM
Author: whitby_2773

hallo deb

and yes, i remember who my friends are - always - especially when it involves sticky cake!!

re cookie - no, i wouldn't have taken him. let me explain why. i believe that dogs are members of the family and need to be treated as such. i have 3 setters, and i am stretched re dog care as it is. i would have desperately wanted to have helped you - and him, even more to the point - but it's dangerous when people let emotions rule them when it comes to decisions about animals, especially dogs, which are such a high maintenance animal. so i'd like to think i would have had the sense to say no. but i would have bent over backwards to have found a good home for him - a home like mine, where he would have been a member of the family. my other issue is that he is too small for this house. my dogs are rough! they play hard, and small canine people tend to get bowled over and handled too roughly. mine cant help it - together my red and whites weigh 120lbs, and my english is another 50lbs. and they play in unison, so cookie would have had a miserable time here. this would not have been the home for him. but i would have found SOME way to help, deb, and i would have done that. i love dogs more than people, i think, and i dont let them 'dangle in the wind' so to speak when they need help. i just don't. so i would have found something useful to do, and i would have done that. have you had contact with the family that has him now? i know you had a little - but has it been ongoing? i'd ask for photos, if it was me.

now. more to the point. can you update me on what happened with you daughter pls? i'm a developmental psychologist - and i read all the thread on cookie, so got a feel for what was happening in your home. can you tell me where you are with it now? i've been thinking of you a lot...

Thank you for your thoughtful (and lengthy) reply, Whitby. After I posted to your thread I had enough observing ego to realize that I had been very egocentric in my posting. Here I was, entering your thread for the first time, and instead of telling you anything that I had felt as I had read about you, I was foisting an old problem of my own on you!

I can only plead, as I have been all too often lately, that I have been out of my mind recently!

I must start by saying that I was very, very drawn to you as I read about you. You were, indeed, the kind of woman I would like as my "best friend"...at least from what I have seen so far . Like you, Whitby, I not only believe-but have verbalized-that I like dogs better than people. And since I am a social worker (I took in that you are a developmental psychologist), it would be correct to infer that I like people quite a lot!

I have had big dogs, too. My Lab (my last dog) was 110 lbs while he was still young and healthy! You don't need to tell me about big dogs! My daughter volunteers for a Great Dane rescue, so I pal around with those guys, too. Yes, they are bigger than Biscuit, but one of our vets called Biscuit, "a Lab in Great Dane clothing". He was a very big boy; he wasn't at all fat. He was high and long and had a huge head and an enormous muzzle. When my daughter was little she once took a Lab "magazine" and measured him against Lab standards. Needless to say, according to what the breed was supposed to be, it appeared that he wasn't a Lab! He was very athletic and very scary when he got wild.

I had to have him euthanized because of extreme arthritis that he developed in his old age in January of 2008, but I am still mourning him.

My daughter just went through what has to be the worst period of her life. She went off her antidpressants abruptly and had a terrible reaction to so doing. For the first time instead of seeming "only" depressed she seemed irritable and irrational in her demands to the point of violence. The constant barrage of psychiatric medications to which she was subjected as the psychiatrist tried to decide whether she was bipolar exacerbated the problems. Right now she is being weaned off those medications. A simple, but atypical, antidepressant appears to be helping. I have my fingers crossed.

AGBF

 

[AmberGretchen]

OMG whitby I''m so glad I came over to look at the pics of your beasties - they are breathtaking, absolutely GORGEOUS

I ADORE them - they just look so noble and yet intelligent and sweet all at the same time, what beautiful babies, I can see why you fell in love with the breed.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 3/9/2009 3:52:29 PM
Author: whitby_2773


i decided to get a dog. a big dog. a big, ACTIVE dog. and then i got another one. and then i got ANOTHER one!

How big (weight-wise) are your dogs, Whitby?

i went for irish red and white setters, because they were active, ergo would force me to exercise, and were the most beautiful thing i''d ever seen. irish setters were all originally red and white, but breeders were so in love with the red, that they bred the white out in the early 1800''s and the breeds became separate.

I did not know about this. I once, briefly, owned an Irish Setter. He was beautiful. Dixon is beyond gorgeous!!!



Dapple is our darling english field setter, and we got her from a rescue organisation. she is a DARLING. her hearing is broken - as is the case with about 20% of spotted dogs (this kind of canine deafness is linked genetically to skin pigmentation - who knew

When my daughter got interested in Great Danes, we found that this was true within that breed. The white ones are both deaf and blind and no one wants them. They need support from rescue organizations in order to be kept alive.... And they are very, very sweet.

AGBF

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 5/9/2009 6:01:35 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
OMG whitby I''m so glad I came over to look at the pics of your beasties - they are breathtaking, absolutely GORGEOUS

I ADORE them - they just look so noble and yet intelligent and sweet all at the same time, what beautiful babies, I can see why you fell in love with the breed.

thanks ambergretchen i love them and mine are gorgeous examples of the breed.

i''m incredibly fond of ''scrappers'' too, tho; to behonest, dogs in general just do it for me - i love anything with paws that barks!

various tests and studies have shown that IRWS have as great or greater ability to learn human words than any other breed. we''ve taught dixon so many that we can aaaaaalmost talk to him! he keeps up his end of the conversation too; he talks to us with his eyes.

 

[whitby_2773]

hi deb

let me start by telling you a conversation i had with my best friend of 32 years a few months ago....

i said to her "you know, i''ve realized that if a car was heading for my dogs, and a person, there are very few people i would save ahead of my dogs."

my friend, wendy, looked at me contemplatively.

"it''s ok," i said "you''re one of the ones i''d save!"

quick as a flash with no hesitation, she said "yes - but what about my children?"

i said "well, it''s only hypothetical....." (eeek!)

i just love dogs!

my dogs range between 50 and 65lbs. they''re tall and elegant but the breed is known for being out of proportion strong for their size; either of them can pull me off my feet. i love ''em tho.

deb, it sounds as tho you''ve been having a very difficult time with your daughter. i''m so sorry! pls dont apologize for talking about the things dear to you - i want to hear! i''m sorry she''s going through such a rough time right now - it sounds like she''s been jerked around a great deal. i really hope they work out soon how to proceed. i cant believe she''s been on and off bi-polar meds! that must be messing with her head no end! why did she go off anti depressants so abruptly? never a good idea...

i''m thinking of you and praying for you both - in fact, all your family. pls feel free to share anything you''re comfortable with me knowing - i''d be interested in hearing about the rest of your family and how they''re coping with all of this. and how are YOU holding up? what do you do to decompress?

kareyn

AKA

 

[AGBF]

Date: 5/10/2009 1:21:26 AM
Author: whitby_2773

my dogs range between 50 and 65lbs. they're tall and elegant but the breed is known for being out of proportion strong for their size; either of them can pull me off my feet.

Let me brag a little about my late dog, Biscuit. Being a retriever, he loved to retrieve and play pulling games with things. Eventually the trainer was to put an end to the pulling games. He only wanted someone who could win a pulling game with a toy to play that game with Biscuit. But I digress. We are getting into dominance issues.

One day I was sitting in a heavy upholstered armchair in "the therapy room". This was the square, comfortable chair into which my psychotherapy client could sink. I don't know what I was holding...but something. Maybe one of Biscuit's rubber toys or bones? Maybe he brought me one? I can only guess. At any rate he grabbed it and I held onto it. And the result was that he pulled me, in the armchair, across the entire room! (We had hardwood floors.) He must have had really good teeth!!!

AGBF

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 5/10/2009 7:05:38 AM
Author: AGBF

Date: 5/10/2009 1:21:26 AM

Author: whitby_2773


my dogs range between 50 and 65lbs. they''re tall and elegant but the breed is known for being out of proportion strong for their size; either of them can pull me off my feet.

Let me brag a little about my late dog, Biscuit. Being a retriever, he loved to retrieve and play pulling games with things. Eventually the trainer was to put an end to the pulling games. He only wanted someone who could win a pulling game with a toy to play that game with Biscuit. But I digress. We are getting into dominance issues.


One day I was sitting in a heavy upholstered armchair in ''the therapy room''. This was the square, comfortable chair into which my psychotherapy client could sink. I don''t know what I was holding...but something. Maybe one of Biscuit''s rubber toys or bones? Maybe he brought me one? I can only guess. At any rate he grabbed it and I held onto it. And the result was that he pulled me, in the armchair, across the entire room! (We had hardwood floors.) He must have had really good teeth!!!


AGBF

he sounds like a character, deb i love big dogs - something i can wrap my arms around! there''s something so comforting about an armful of silky, panting, canine! dixon knows to rest his head on my shoulder when i cuddle him, and poppy closes her eyes and snuggles in if you put your arms around her! dapple just covers you with the tiniest of kisses.... i mean- who could hate this??

i love great danes, too - such gentle giants. i can imagine, in this economic climate, more of them than normal turning up in rescue. i try to impress upon people often that dog''s take money - and they''re not conservative in their requirements! i cant tell you how many people i know have had to um and ahh about taking their dog to the vet because they couldn''t afford it. horrible dilemma. so i can imagine GD rescue being pretty busy! good on you for being involved.

i''m thinking of your daughter, deb, and praying for you both. xox

 

[whitby_2773]

i just wanted to say i was touched by all the kind words that have been said about angelo and his situation. this will be a hugely personal post, so I’d like to ask that people respond thoughtfully. and please be clear – I’m not looking for comments or suggestions; I’m sharing this specifically because my walk with angelo began on, and because of, this site and because people have shown a degree of interest in this precious little boy, and his story deserves to be told and remembered.

but i also wanted to say that sometimes life just makes it obvious what you''re supposed to do in a situation and this one was mine. and tim and i are so blessed with so many opportunities, abilities and resources, that i''ve kind of been waiting throughout life for ''God to collect''. tim and i have always practiced sharing what we have - both in time and resources, but i''ve still had almost 49 years of living like (as bono once put it) ''a fat cat in the snow''. so now God is collecting, and i''m up for it.

when i first read the article (i think posted by tuckins perhaps?) i was moved - but it was like any other sad story, and i know plenty of them. but the next night - 36 hours later, i woke up at 2am, thought about what had happened to angelo - tried to put myself in his shoes - what he saw, felt - and ran to the bathroom and threw up. i then went and sat in my office, sobbed for 2 hours, then went and woke up tim and said "timbo, this is it..." about 50 phone calls and 48 hours later, i was talking to angelo''s aunt on the phone. she''s invited me to work with whatever member of the family ends up gaining custody of angelo (tho it looks most likely that it will be her and her husband) and i''m going to be working with my mother in law (family court attorney in australia) re setting up trusts and so on and so forth.

i''m sure this little boy will be in my life for many years to come and i''m hoping we can replace even a fraction of the light he has lost - but i doubt it. he was found unconscious on the floor of his house by a neighbor and taken straight to hospital. when he came to, the first thing he said was "my daddy ate my eyes." the unbearable pain and agony of that - the unspeakable confusion and world destroying betrayal - is almost more than my own heart can bear, and perhaps everything tim and i are doing is only to try to address the sense of deep helplessness we feel within ourselves. but i''m hoping it''s more than that. i feel as tho i''ve reached out a hand to angelo somehow through the cosmos and am trying to grasp his tightly in my own - to the extent that i''m able. and i daily ask God to share with him some of the light with which my own wonderful life is filled. i dont even know what that means - but i pray it anyway because something in my heart compels me.

to complete the picture for you – angelo’s parents both have a history of drug abuse and were charged with child abuse 3 years ago. but angelo was returned to them anyway. the day his father attacked him, angelo’s mother (who is basically on the run for skipping out on a mandated drug programme) dropped a pizza around to the house. angleo was crying and begged her to take him away from the house because he was scared. his father was acting strange and angelo was terrified. he said over and over to his mother “take me with you – I’m scared – I’m scared.” she didn’t.

i''ve always been an ''actions rather than bleeding heart'' kind of person, having been brought up in a family with a strong corporate background but who were also very involved in public foundations and various charities. ditto my husband''s family. and so being proactive about this has been somewhat helpful in combating the incredible helplessness i''ve felt. but in the final analysis, i''ve spent so much of my professional life trying to stop these very sorts of situations, and yet they continue - in greater numbers and in ever-bloodier incarnations. so i''m doing what i''ve always done when i felt a situation to be overwhelming and hopeless; i''m putting my head down and shoveling forwards, one spade-full at a time. and ridiculous tho this might sound to some, every day i say in my heart "i''m coming angelo - i''m coming!"

i''ve had experience lobbying government bodies over foster issues, so it''s not outside my realm of professional history to help angelo''s apparently very nice uncle and aunt to gain custody. and i''ve mediated between parent and child over some of the most horrific historical incidents, so it''s again not outside of my realm to one day see what can be done to heal some of these hurts. and frankly, using a world-wide comparison, tim and i have deep pockets and can offer a great deal of financial assistance. but in the final analysis, i think the biggest ability i have is to be able to ''sit in the dark'' with this broken child. what troubles me the most is that this little boy has suddenly been plunged into darkness, away from all family and home - which would be fraught with horrific memories anyway, institutionalized, with no-one and nothing which is ''his''. i find this utterly appalling in the magnitude of trauma it implies. i think more than anything, angelo must need company - someone in this with him - someone who can sit next to him 24/7 and just BE THERE. ideally, i''d like to be that person. given that i cant do that yet, i try to send my prayers out for him all the time. i believe what we think and feel somehow affects the cosmos, so each day i try to reach across the distance and hold his hand in my mind, visualizing sitting with him, giving some physical warmth and presence, nurturing this child i''ve never even met. i dont work as a psych anymore - i write children''s books. and this little boy is going to need all sorts of words because he no longer has pictures, so perhaps we''ll be able to connect on that level. and perhaps all i''ll be able to do is write him a big, stinking check when he hits 18. i dont know. he''s 4 years old now - so i dont know how this will play out. but as i mentioned before, i''m a long term kind of person - long marriage, long friendships, long everything - so i''m the right kind of person for this. when everyone else is bored and has gone, i know i''ll still be there simply because that''s what i do.

there are currently some fund raising events being organized for him, tho the people organizing them are running into issues with local councils regulations. this is the beauty of a private trust. and tim and i are staying out of the publicly organized events, as we know through experience that these sorts of things create an initial frenzy, then largely die down, people lose interest, and the whole thing just sort of drizzles away. these sorts of things are also so often mis-managed, they incur costs, and the money raised can disappear. so we''re aware that as the years pass, the money we put together for him may be all the money he has. and we''re going to need lots, because the medical costs are going ot be considerable, if nothing else. to say nothing of his education and living costs.

anyway, that''s what we''re doing. there''s nothing noble about it - it''s driven by need, helplessness, rage against injustice, horror and a sense of debt. but it''s also driven by love and i''m hoping we can do it right and do it well so that when all else fails for this little boy - as it has and as it will probably continue to do - we can be there as his safety net. because if one little boy can be saved from falling, there''s hope for the world.

I won’t be posting about angelo again any time soon – perhaps when the brouhaha surrounding him has died down and when my relationship with the family is more established and solidified. that’s going to take considerable time. for anyone interested, here is the original thread where tuckins1 posted the story and I reached the decision that tim and I were going to get involved.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/oh-my-lord-this-is-awful.115880/

 

[AmberGretchen]

Whitby - I think you are doing a beautiful thing to try to help Angelo. I can completely understand that it will take some time to know how it all ends up, but in the meantime, I, and I''m sure many others in the PS community, will be sending healing thoughts and prayers to Angelo and will be keeping our fingers crossed that some measure of grace, stability, and happiness can be brought back into this child''s life.

 

[Linda W]

Whitby, What you and Tim are doing for this little boy, has completely touched my heart. God has sent him two guardian angels. I wish I could reach through my computer and give you a big hug.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Whitby, if there were more people like you and Tim in this world the world would be a better place. Your kindness and generosity is inspiring. Most people talk about changing things but the fact that you are acting on your convictions is truly amazing.

 

[Linda W]

Date: 6/10/2009 1:56:29 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Whitby, if there were more people like you and Tim in this world the world would be a better place. Your kindness and generosity is inspiring. Most people talk about changing things but the fact that you are acting on your convictions is truly amazing.

Tacori: You said it better than I did.

 

[gemgirl]

whitby, I feel so horribly guilty for saying in tuckins post that I wasn't going to click on that link..... I'm too much of a softy and I've often been so deeply offended or horrified by some of the things that have happened- not only in our own lives but in the lives of the people/couples we try to help through our work in marriage ministry. Sometimes I feel like I just can't handle any more suffering or pain! but..... God has made us healthy and capable of trying to help others in pain, so that is why I believe we are drawn to these situations and why we put ourselves in these positions.

I am certainly not comparing what we do to what you and Tim have done, and no doubt will continue to do for this little angel for the indefinite future. You have gone more than the extra mile, and I am truly proud to even think that I know you. You & Tim are angels disguised as people.

I will certainly pray for Angelo, but I'm praying for you and Tim too. May God give you the strength, courage and perseverance to help Angelo all that you can.

I not only clicked on that link, but I have read everything I could find on this little angel. If there is anything any of us can do to help you and Tim to accomplish what you're trying to for Angelo, please let us all know.

 

[monarch64]

Thank you, Whitby, for what you are doing for Angelo, and for just being a good human being in general. I''m honored to have made your acquaintance here. You are a light and an inspiration.

 

[Maisie]

Whitby,

I knew from the first post I read of yours that you are a very special person. You make such effort to write posts that will help people. You take time to write long posts and that puts my two line responses to shame.

This child will need so much to try and recover even a little bit from this terrible ordeal. I thank God that you and your husband have found your way to Angelo. I will pray that this will be a lifelong relationship and there won''t be any red tape or obstacles in your way.

 

[Kaleigh]

Oh Whitby,
You are a guardain angel to sweet Angelo. What you and Tim are doing is so precious and kind. Bless you for doing what you do. I think we need a lot more Whitby''s in this cruel world. You are a kind and caring soul. I am so glad you joined PS, it has been a pleasure getting to know YOU... HUGS!!!