Irish setter gives birth to 15 puppies When Romy the Irish setter went into labour, her excited owners expected to have their hands full with eight or nine puppies. Then a tenth arrived. And an 11th, and a 12th, and a 13th, and a 14th...
After an exhausting ten hours, the litter stood at a staggering 15.
So overwhelming is the boisterous brood that owners Natasha White and Alicia Copping, both 28, are working on a 24-hour shift pattern to help three-year-old Romy feed the ten girls and five boys.
Miss White, a qualified vet and dog breeder, said: ‘There is a particular greedy one. She wakes up in between feeds screaming for more milk.
‘We did a scan when Romy was just four weeks pregnant and we thought we saw eight or nine. So you can imagine our shock when she carried on giving birth to more.’
The average litter size for the breed is nine. The puppies’ father, six-year-old Ruben, is also owned by the housemates, from Allesley, Coventry, and they plan to keep one from the litter, which arrived 12 days ago.
The record in Britain is 24 pups which was set in 2004 in Cambridgeshire beating the previous record of 13.
The squealing newborns, a healthy 10 girls and five boys, weighed between 275 and 339 grams.
Within just a week they have doubled in size.
Despite not being able to open their eyes they have been gulping milk every two hours of the day.
Ms White, who specialises in breeding guide dogs, said: 'We did a scan when Romy was just four weeks pregnant and we thought we saw eight or nine. So you can imagine our shock when she carried on giving birth to more.
'She was very tired by the end of it. We gave her a walk round the garden after her 10th one. Then after two hours the others came out.
'The last one to be born was the biggest. It took Romy more effort to get him out than the others.
'We were in shock when she kept going. We thought ''oh crikey'' how is she going to get the last few out but she did it.'
Exhausted Romy doesn’t have enough milk for all her offspring so Ms Copping and Ms White feed them a milk substitute in a bottle instead.
Ms White, a police officer based at Coventry Central Station, said: 'Between us we’re looking after the puppies 24 hours a day. Natasha does the day shifts and I do the nights because I’m used to doing night shifts for work.
'I’ve never helped a dog give birth - my work doesn’t prepare you for something like this.'
Ms White said being a mother has come naturally to Romy.
She said: 'This is her first litter but she’s such a natural. She knows exactly what to do, she’s a fantastic mum.
'It’s a miracle how she managed to get them out.'
The owners were so excited by the birth they decided to set up their own website, www.rosarenosirishsetters.co.uk, to document their development.
Ms White said: 'There is a particular greedy one. She wakes up in between feeds screaming for more milk. Another of the girls is quite chilled out.
'One of the boys looks like his dad, he has a long body.'
The owners, who will keep one of the puppies, are inviting people to give the remaining 14 a loving home.
They are also looking to name the puppies after fairytale characters which begin with the letter R but could do with some ideas.
Ms White said: 'We’ve named the smallest pup Rosie but we would love some help on naming the others.'