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A mama Great Dane gave birth to an adorable litter of puppies at a shelter this week, and the rescue says the new arrivals have set a record.
Perfectly Imperfect Pups, in Raleigh, North Carolina, recently took in a pregnant Great Dane named Meadow. The sweet dog had been passed around to five different homes since February, through no fault of her own.
“It makes me so sad that Meadow had such an unsteady past, being bounced around is no life for a dog,” rescue founder and director Nicole Kincaid told WNCN. “We are thrilled to have her in the rescue, and this will be her last litter and her next home will be her forever home.”
She was placed in a foster home where she could deliver her puppies. Just two days after her arrival, Meadow gave birth — and it was more newborn puppies than anybody had ever seen.
Meadow gave birth to a whopping 15 puppies, more than double the average amount. Bigger dog breeds like Great Danes often give birth to larger litters, but this is a large amount even for the breed.
Kincaid says it is the record for the largest litter in the shelter’s history and the largest she’s seen in her 13 years as a rescuer. (The world record for the largest puppy litter ever is 24, set in 2004 by a Neapolitan mastiff, according to Guinness.)
Kincaid says that the litter is also unusual in that almost all the puppies are male: “Shockingly enough, we have 12 boys, which is a huge number of boys out of a litter,” she told People.
Thankfully all 15 puppies are doing well, growing fast and being doted on by their loving mother. Kincaid thanked Meadow’s fosters for taking her in and seeing her through this larger-than-normal delivery. The foster parents have reportedly been bottle-feeding the puppies in between Meadow’s feedings.
“PIPs is so proud of our foster parents. They take in dogs without knowing what the next few days or months could bring,” she told WNCN. “Taking in a pregnant dog is even more of a challenge because you don’t always know when mom will give birth, how many puppies will be born, or what complications may come along.”
The rescue now plans to find loving homes for each of the puppies — and finally find a stable home for Meadow.
Congrats to Meadow on delivering such a big, beautiful litter of puppies. Thank you to everyone who has cared for this pregnant Great Dane and her pups — we hope they all find loving forever homes soon!
Please share this amazing news if you love dogs!
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