Dog owners stunned after pet gives birth to record-breaking litter | UK | News

A dog owner was left stunned after her pet gave birth to a record-breaking litter. Miranda Pellecchia and her family, who live in Blean, near Canterbury, Kent, received an incredible surprise when two-year-old Irish setter Marigold breastfed 17 puppies.

The puppies are a crossbreed known as Irish Doodles, the result of Marigold mating with a poodle. The dog’s offspring are thought to be the largest hybrid litter ever recorded in the UK.

The litter is currently around eight weeks old and is proving to be quite sufficient for the family.

Miranda, 42, said the birth process was “exhausting for us, so I dread to think how pathetic Marigold must have felt.”

Miranda told BBC News the marigold was a little tired from looking after her babies, but the devoted mother was “overwhelmed” after 13 hours of giving birth.

All 17 newborn babies have been named and will be vaccinated and microchipped.

Permanent homes will be found later.

He says that because he has three children, Miranda will be a lot quieter once her offspring are gone, which means he predicts things will “return to the level of chaos we normally have here.”

Marigold broke the previous documented record of 16 set by an Irish Setter from Hampshire in 2019.

This is just shy of the world record for a puppy of the breed, which was broken in 2004 by a Neapolitan mastiff from Cambridgeshire who gave birth to 24 puppies.