Bailee is a 4-year-old African Boerboel. The dog from Alabama is now a proud new mother. When veterinarian Dr. Aimee Johnson at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine conducted a radiograph on the pregnant dog, it showed at least 14 or 15 puppies growing inside of her. Little did they know how many they would actually get when Bailee went into labor.
The mom gave birth to 19 puppies. It's one of the largest litters in recorded history, although still not the largest. According to the Guinness World Records, the largest litter contained 24 puppies born in 2004 in the United Kingdom.
“The radiograph showed at least 14 to 15 puppies, so we decided on a C-section, because a natural birth for a litter that size would be a long delivery for the mother," said Dr. Johnson.
She determined a C-section would be the safest for the small creatures. While one puppy didn't make it during the delivery, and another passed in the following weeks, the others are happy, healthy, and thriving. The dogs stayed at the hospital for a month, where a specially puppy nanny made sure the babies were fed every four hours. In the video, you'll see what it looks like when 17 puppies rush to nurse from their mama. They climb over each other, jump, and squirm! Their human, Jerry Turner, hopes to find good homes for each of the babies once they reach 8 weeks old.
"The litter's doing well. They are very loving, very affectionate and highly intelligent dogs," said Turner.
See more of these precious babies below, and please SHARE this miracle litter with your friends and family on Facebook!
