Take that, Disney!
The dog named Cleo in Kingman, Arizona had to go into the Kingman Animal Hospital to deliver her litter. The staff performed a C Section to deliver all the animals.
A litter of Great Danes is often between eight and ten puppies, so doubling that number could have been disastrous for Cleo. Thankfully, the staff says all the puppies were delivered without any complications.
The hospital posted photos showing the adorable babies and Cleo in the treatment area, after the procedure had been completed.
The puppies were bottle fed every three hours while the team waited for the mother to recover from the procedure. The dog did not belong to the hospital, though the Facebook post did not specify who then owned the animal.
This isn't the first time a Great Dane has given birth to such a large litter. In 2014, the dog Snowy gave birth to a litter of equal size in Pennsylvania.
As for the largest litter ever, the Guinness Book of Records claims the largest litter of dogs is 24. They were born to a UK mastiff named Tia on November 29th, 2004.
Since the dogs belonged to a private individual, there is no comment at this time about selling them to interested persons, despite many comments asking precisely that.
It's hard to blame people for asking though. These are some really cute dogs.
As of Monday, the puppies and the mother were all in good health. They will be back in the hospital for a check up on their health at a later date. And if the owners find their hands full with the pups, I'm sure some very willing volunteers can help.