Tragedy upon Tragedy - the Whispering Pines Poodle story

This is the story of the destruction of the Whispering Pines Poodles at the hands of a vegan animal rights extremist.

Part 2 - Tragedy upon Tragedy - the Death of River

As I approach the 10 year anniversary of the destruction of the Whispering Pines poodles at the hands of an animal rights extremist and the release of my next book, I'd like to walk down #MemoryLane

Picture it 10 years ago. I am hit with a 1-2-3 punch. The first, Stock Market Crash has hit. It will be felt for a long time to come. The second has hit. Snowmaggedon. The snow is so bad that 10 days later the county is using construction equipment and dump trucks to remove the snow from our roads. The 3rd hit now falls.....   

River in the show ring

During Snowmaggedon, the entire region lost power. Being the south, for most of us, our heat is also electric. Bulled and blackmailed into having a litter of puppies by a co-owner of a bitch (during a horrific recession no less), I have 9 brand new puppies here. Momma and babies are removed from their spacious whelping pen and put in a blanket lined plastic crate. I pile more blankets over the crate to make it into a cave. Puppies need to be kept at 85-90 degrees the first two weeks to survive. I pray and cry during these horrible days.

Every dog crate or pen I have is moved around this crate so all the dogs and I collectively add our body heat to River and her puppies while the temperature of the house goes down to ZERO. River and her puppies make it!

In the aftermath of the final snow storm, an exhausted River collapses with eclampsia. I've used up all my emergency supplies during the blizzards keeping her and the puppies alive... I call my vet and tell her this is an EMERGENCY. She tries to talk me out of it but I insist.

We both struggle through walls of snow over 2 hours to reach her clinic. I lose my car in a ditch or skid off the road three times. I'm almost hit several other times. We both finally reach the clinic and she starts to treat River but it's too late. River has started to seize and has gone into a coma. She pulls blood work and starts intravenous calcium. She works over River for hours trying to reverse the seizures. Nothing works. Both of us are crying. She informs me that River is brain dead. We talk over end of life issues and what to do next.

River is lost. She dies in my arms.

I am surrounded by a natural disaster that has shut down the region. I now have 9 orphaned puppies that I must bottle raise without their mother.

River with her 5 day old puppies

I'm too exhausted and stunned to cry anymore. Her babies need me. I still need to go to work tomorrow. With millions out of work, I can't afford to miss a single hour at my job. I now have a huge vet bill to pay as well. What do I do next? Where do I turn?

I make my first fatal mistake. I send an email out to my peers in the poodle community asking if anyone has a recent mother who still has milk who could nurse the puppies....

I am now 6 weeks from the destruction of the Whispering Pines line forever.

#WhisperingPinesPoodles #NeverGiveUp #MemoryLane #PreservationBreeder #AnimalRightsHatesAnimals #AnimalRightsEqualsBetterDeadThanFed

The Whispering Pines Poodle story:

Part 1 - Snowmaggedon 2010
Part 2 - Tragedy upon Tragedy
Part 3 - Reaching out for Help
Part 4 - The Anonymous Complaint
Part 5 - RAID! The Storming of My Home
Part 6 - Bewildered and Lost Trixie

Additional related stories:Three Poodle Breeders Fined By Judge

Hilleary Bogley:

Virginia Legislature to Commend a Terrorist?
Stafford Family Ruined by Animal Rights Terrorists
The Rise of the Gauleiter
A Liar by any other Name is still just a Liar