Whiskey the Warrior

I’m starting this fundraiser for the Hughes family because, after everything they have spent the last several months doing for animals in their community, they are the ones who need help now.

Yesterday, their beloved black lab, Whiskey River, was brutally attacked by two of the final rescue dogs in their care.

The attack was sudden and completely unexpected. Brittany tried desperately to break it up and save Whiskey, but she couldn’t separate them on her own. Whiskey suffered severe injuries and was rushed to the emergency veterinarian, where he was taken into surgery around 10 a.m.

He remained under anesthesia for hours while the veterinary team worked to clean and repair extensive wounds to his chest, shoulder, neck, face and ear. His hair was ripped off of him and his chest was split to the point you could see his insides. He required multiple drains and significant wound repairs all over his body, and it wasn’t until around 5 p.m. that they were finally able to reverse the anesthesia and begin waking him.

Thankfully, Whiskey survived that part. The first couple days it’s touch and go with breathing and they are concerned about possible infection.

But his recovery is only beginning.

For anyone who knows their family’s story, what happened yesterday carries an especially painful weight.

When the Hughes family moved to their new home in February 2026, they came with Gunner and Whiskey.

Then Gunner disappeared. Gunner was their daughter’s service dog.

They searched relentlessly for him, hiring the best of the best and walking miles by foot themselves. When they couldn’t bring Gunner home, Brittany REFUSED to let his story simply end. Instead, she and her family turned their heartbreak into Gunner’s Mission, a nonprofit created in his name to help animals and families in their community.

They opened their property.

They opened their home.

They paid vet bills

They transported animals

They fostered, searched, advocated, found adopters and stepped in when animals had nowhere else to go.

And through all of it, Whiskey was still there.

He was the dog who remained beside their family while they grieved Gunner and tried to turn that grief into something good.

Yesterday, while caring for some of the very last rescue animals they had taken responsibility for, they nearly lost him too.

There is something incredibly heartbreaking about that.

They tried to keep Gunner’s memory alive by saving other animals, and it nearly cost them the only one of their two boys they still had left.

This incident has understandably solidified their decision that Gunner’s Mission can no longer operate by bringing rescue animals into their family home. The mission and Gunner’s legacy will continue through the means of opening a low cost spay/neuter and low cost vaccine clinic, but their family’s safety—and the safety of their own animals—has to come first.

Right now, their family and Whiskey is priority.

His emergency surgery and treatment have created a significant and unexpected veterinary expense, and he still has a long road ahead with wound care, medications, follow-up appointments and recovery.

If you know Brittany and Don, you probably know that asking for help is not something that comes naturally to them. They are usually the people figuring out how to help everyone else.

So I’m asking for them.

If you are able to contribute toward Whiskey’s emergency veterinary care, every dollar will go toward helping this family get their boy through his recovery and ease the burden they are both carrying. If you aren’t in a position to donate, please share this fundraiser.

They have spent months showing up for animals and families who needed someone.

Now it’s our turn to show up for them.

Gunner couldn’t come home.

Whiskey did.

Let’s help make sure his family can focus on getting him healed. 🖤🐾