The owners of a black Labrador were given the shock of their life when they thought their beloved dog was due to give birth to six puppies, but ended up with a litter of more than double.
Black Labrador Beau gave birth to 13 puppies – one of Britain’s largest ever litters
The pooch, who is a descendant of a Crufts champion, was just two shy of a record believed to have been set by a Labrador back in 2014.
Beau’s owner Leah Barrett safely delivered the litter with her sister Alice. But the number of pups came as quite a shock to the pair, who had been told by the vet to expect five or six following an ultrasound appointment.
Leah said: ‘The vet told us it would take about an hour for each puppy to be born.
‘We thought there could be up to eight, so roughly calculated an eight hour labour.
‘But after seven were born in just forty minutes, we were all absolutely gobsmacked. They were just flying out.’
But the birth did not come without its complications.
One of the puppies became trapped in Beau’s birth canal because her placenta had come loose. Leah and Alice managed to get the puppy out after 40 minutes, but it wasn’t breathing or moving.
Leah added: ‘We were all panicking, we thought we had lost her. It took about ten to 15 minutes to get her breathing.
‘I used suction equipment to suck all the fluid out of her lungs. It’s a good job I’d done my reading on the subject, or she wouldn’t be here now.’
The family have called the puppy Hope because of the experience. She is now one of the biggest in the litter.
All of the other puppies have been named to match their own unique personalities.
The boys are called Stormy, Ziggy, Ninja, Danny Dyer, Neon, Stevie and Bear, whereas the girls have been named Hope, Violet, Penelope, Paloma Faith, Penelope and Baby Pink.
Leah said: ‘Stormy was the runt of the litter so we gave him a strong name to give him a boost.’
The family are keeping two of the puppies for themselves – Bear and Hope – but will be selling the other 11 for £950 each.
In total, they expect to receive around £10,000 for the black Labrador pups.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/28/black-labrador-gives-birth-to-one-of-britains-largest-ever-litters-10995617/
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