Good post Sue,
I wll just pick up on a point you made about pet Insurance,very few companies will not cover any claim made whilst the bitch is in whelp if it is a result of that,or if they need a c-section which can be very expensive especially out of hours.A friend of ours had to have his bitch sectioned out of hours had 2 dead pups,2 live ones and had a bill for nearly £900,so definatly not cheap.The sale of the pups never even covered the vet bill,plus all the extra bedding,food,laundry etc....