There’s no denying that motherhood is hard. The act of childbirth in itself is a tiring process, but we’re not forgetting that new moms don’t get much time at all to recover! As soon as you’ve had your baby, it’s time to get straight into feeding, nappy changing, teaching and caregiving. The thought have having twins or even triplets is a pretty daunting thought to us- but have you ever spared a thought for the animals who birth entire litters?
Well, be prepared to have your mind blown, because one amazing dalmation mom gave birth to a breathtaking eighteen puppies, and the absolute supermom was totally chill about the whole thing. In fact, she even stopped the labour process at one point to have a nap! Thankfully, both mom and puppies are doing well, and they’re now waiting until they’re old enough to go to their furever homes.
When Nellie the three-year-old dalmation fell pregnant, vets predicted that the mom-to-be was due to have three puppies. But when the birthing process began, it soon became clear that there was a fair few more than three pups in their mama’s tummy.
Despite the labour being a grueling 14 hours long, owner Louise Clement, from Preston, said Nellie had a great natural labour, and the puppies ‘just kept on coming.’
The super mom birthed a total of ten little boy pups and eight little girl pups, and she seemed to take it all in her stride! We often wonder just how much of the whole birthing process animals actually understand, but whether she was entirely aware of what was going on or not, Nellie decided to accept the situation and just roll with it.
Louise has been breeding dalmatians for 30 years, but in all her time as a breeder she has never seen anything quite like this!
She said: “I thought she’d stopped after number 15, because it looked like she had laid down to go to sleep. But then along came another one, and two more after that. Nellie is making a really lovely mum. I’m immensely proud of her, she’s been amazing.”
With Louise being so unprepared for such a large number of pups, some might guess that it would be a struggle to handle all the extra pawprints around her house. But luckily, the breeder’s house is well equipped for a multitude of furry friends.
“Fortunately, we have a lot of outside space and the dogs have lots of things to play with.” Louise said. “They’ve got their own Wendy House, and swings and slides that they love to play on.”
And if you’re worried about sleeping arrangements, Louise also has that covered…
“Some sleep in the kitchen, some sleep in the utility room, and some sleep in the living room,” she said. “A couple occasionally join me in bed.”
To tell the puppies apart, Louise has placed a temporary spot of dye on every pup- with each being a different color. As soon as they grow big enough, they will each have a collar to tell them apart. We wonder if their mom is able to tell them apart? Something tells us that she would!
Watch the sweet video of Nellie’s 18 puppies below.
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