02-20-2010, 08:06 PM
It is a sad time for the Ragdoll community. Earlier this month Laura Dayton died. Laura and Denny were the first family to get breeding Ragdolls from Ann Baker. While Ann wanted to keep the breed private and outside the cat fancy, the Daytons led the process to get our breed recognized in the cat fancy and bred by cat fancy principles. They established their cattery as Blossom Time. All knowledgeable breeders are pleased to find that cattery prefix in the ancestry of their own breeding cats. They founded breed clubs, in the original associations in which the Ragdoll was recognized as a breed and then the independent RFCI. They and other early breeders refined the breed, drafted the formal breed standards and worked for furtherance and recognition of the Ragdoll breed. The Daytons exported the foundation cats to the UK in the early 80s shortly before they retired from breeding. This was a major step in making the Ragdoll breed an international breed. Today, Ragdolls are the second largest breed in TICA and the breed is recognized by all of the major cat associations worldwide. Laura was a major contributor to that and her death is a sad loss for the entire Ragdoll community.