Without even the most timid or tentative objection. The similarities of these animals to Iraqis are all too close and clear.
American citizens like Diane Reid must surely wonder what has happened to the moral compass of America. Huckabee's angels are a far cry from the angels with Diane, founder of Whispering Hope Ranch in a forest of soaring Ponderosa Pines 30 miles east of Payson, Arizona.
Diane Reid's explanation for the wonders of Whispering Hope is as simple as Mike Huckabee's, but much saner and kinder. She doesn't mention angels. She merely explains:
Magical in the finest sense of the word. True miracles regularly occur at Whispering Hope Ranch. Miracles of life and love and hope rather than miracles of death and destruction. An adoptive nursing home and assisted living facility for over 100 animals who have physical limitations or who had been abandoned or mistreated and would otherwise have been "put down".
At Whispering Hope, Huckabee's angels of death are excluded. Only angels of loving and healing are allowed in the gates.
One example is Eeyore. Diane was contacted by the owners of a donkey that could not walk. An able-bodied crew lifted Eeyore into a trailer and delivered him to the ranch. A few days later, Eeyore began walking.
Whispering Hope Ranch is a haven where unconditional love is freely offered and graciously accepted, regardless of physical injury or emotional wound. Not merely by the animal residents. By injured or wounded children as well. All sorts of special children. Children with cancer, Down's Syndrome, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, burns, brain and spinal cord injuries, all are wholeheartedly welcomed by the animal residents with understanding, acceptance and unconditional love.
Early on, Diane watched with amazement as the injured or wounded animals she adopted were instinctively embraced by visiting injured or wounded children.
And as the children were accepted and embraced by the animals.
One example was the first visit by Jonothan, a 14-year old suffering from muscular dystrophy, who walked into the main pasture and stopped. He was soon met by Lucky Lady, a large gray-white horse, who gave Jonothan a gentle nudge. Jonothan turned and gently petted his new friend. He later explained why this almost spiritual connection occurred:
"She's blind. Just like me."
"She understands what it's like to be me."
A blind horse sought and found a blind person. Somehow, Lucky Lady knew.
Cuddles and Kisses, two miniature donkeys, do their part to help. One example is a young visitor stricken by cerebral palsy. Both donkeys instinctively accommodated the visitor's physical limitations by resting their heads on the arms of the child's wheelchair to be petted. The girl was spastic and accidentally hit the two donkeys in the eyes and nose several times as she tried to pet them. Both remained calmly at her side as the girl calmed. Somehow, Cuddles and Kisses also knew.
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