IT wasn’t quite 101 Dalmatians, but a Forrestdale vet still had its hands full when an emergency visit on Monday saw the birth of a huge litter of 18 puppies.
Four-year-old Doberman Sassy was already in labour and close to giving birth to her big litter when she was rushed into West Coast Vet late that afternoon.
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READ NOW“When Sassy presented to our hospital we knew from her behaviour and the description of recent events that she was close to giving birth,” vet Garnett Hall said.
“Unfortunately when there are that many puppies inside, the process of giving birth naturally can be very difficult and is often fraught with problems for both mother and pups.
“We ultrasounded Sassy and saw that some of the puppies were becoming distressed, so the decision was made to perform an emergency caesarean to give them the best chance of survival.”
Dr Hall said the litter of 14 males and four females was well above the average for Dobermans, which was usually eight to nine puppies.
“A litter of 18 is very rare and it was the most any of our vets have delivered (or heard of being delivered) by caesarean,” he said.
“A few of the pups were quite unwell when first born but we managed to revive all of them, which was not an easy task.
“We were absolutely thrilled to have all of them alive and all are now back at home with mum.
“We saw them yesterday for a recheck and they are all healthy, feeding well, and putting on weight.”
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