Meet Barb Poole | A mother, a grandmother, a great grandmother

We had the good fortune of connecting with Barb Poole and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Barb, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Before my retirement from Mesa Superior Court my husband and myself purchased a small 6 months old pug puppy from a pet store. The puppy was frail and obviously sick. A few days after bringing our puppy home we woke up to the puppy in distress, The puppy’s eyes were both covered with infection. It was Sunday. We took our little girl “Liberty” to urgent care, urgent care cleaned Liberty up and told us to see our vet on Monday. By the end of that week little Liberty had undergone eye surgery by a specialist to remove ingrown eyelashes and a hole in one eye. We were told these issues are from inbreeding in the puppy mill. We did our homework, and yes Liberty was from a puppy mill with many inbreeding health issues. The specialist could not save Libby’s eyesight. The surface of Liberty’s eyes had been painfully destroyed over time in the pet store with her ingrown eyelashes. The first surgery $10,000.00. I new Liberty must have been given to us for a reason by God to stop the madness of puppy mills. Stop the suffering of animals. I felt I must share Liberty’s story and educate children with love for pets, for a kind and safer future for all animals. I kept daily notes on Liberty and her life. We brought two more pugs home the following two years to help Liberty with her blindness. As soon as I retired I started writing and now have 10 beautifully illustrated Children’s books published. It has not been easy, and I have made mistakes but today I also have a screenplay I was asked to write. An animated movie in the future.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I graduated school in England at the age of 14. I worked in a shoe store and a Television factory.
I was married at the age of 18 and moved to Canada.
I worked in a drugstore in Canada.
Later moving to CAL USA I worked in a large shoppers drug mart .
Moving later to Arizona. I was a concierge in the Q Sports club.
I worked for 17 years at Mesa Superior Court running the courtrooms and office work for three superior court judges. I was the Judicial Specialist to Judge David Grounds. Judge Linda Scott. Judge David Udall
I have been writing since retirement 11 years ago.
Today I am the Published Author of 10 beautiful children’s books.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am not much of a party girl . My friends and family know this. I prefer hikes out at Boyce Thompson, walking in Kiwanis Park, kayaking on the Mogollon Rim.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband of almost 59 years has been by my side supporting me with his love and patience. We have learnt so much throughout the process of learning together. I have had many challenges throughout this time. Publishers who had no publishing skills but take large sums of money. Publishers who promised me the world and they went bankrupt the day before the release of my books. Third time almost giving up, A kind man called me “Jon” a man from Legaia books took me under his wing and saved me from calling it quits.

Website: www.thediariesoflibertythepug.com

Instagram: barb_a_poole

Linkedin: Pugsrgreat@q.com

Twitter: threepugmum

Facebook: Barb A. Poole

Youtube: Barbara Poole

Other: www.thediariesoflibertythepug.com ticktock @barbarapoole