SYDNEY, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Western Australian dog named Sassy made a full recovery on Friday after it was revealed the "super mom" gave birth to an Australian record 18 puppies earlier in the week.
It took 10 staff at the West Coast Veterinary Clinic 90 minutes to deliver the litter of dobermans, with a total of three vets, two vet students, two vet nurses, two interns and a receptionist on hand to welcome the pups.
"The breeder came in and told us his dog was going to have at least 16 puppies," veterinarian Aaron Raney told local media.
"I took it with a grain of salt and thought it might be 10 or 12, but they kept coming!"
"I stopped counting after about 12 because I was concentrating on getting them all out, but the squeaking was non-stop."
Making the procedure more challenging for Raney, was that a regular Cesarean section birth would not be possible with such a large bundle of puppies.
"Normally when I do a Cesarean I can make one incision but with her I had to make four incisions to get them all out at a quick rate," Raney explained.
"She did really well, some puppies were distressed and not breathing but once we blew some oxygen into them they came good."