Kelley Taylor, a 43-year-old poodle breeder from Mt. Vernon, spends most of her days in her back yard breeding and raising 40-50 toy poodles. Taylor has committed her life to nurturing poodles in her dog kennel for more than 15 years. She said she started the kennel because she was having difficulty conceiving a child.

“I connect with some of my customers in different ways because some of them are getting one of my puppies because they, too, are unable to conceive a child,” she said. “The dogs really helped me cope with the fact that I wasn’t able to have a child.”

After 10 years of trying, Taylor had a son in 2003 named Gabriel.

“It was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me besides my dogs,” she said.

Taylor spends an average of 10 hours per day taking care of the puppies as well as her own five house dogs.

“These dogs and my family are my entire life,” she said. “I will not stop raising these dogs until I’m old and gray.”

Story and Photo’s done by Alexa Rogals