Puppy love: Basset hound surprises with 14 babies
/ Screen capture from Twitter
The owners of a basset hound in West Yorkshire, England, got a big surprise when the dog gave birth to 14 puppies.
Tessa was expected to produce eight puppies - the average for basset hounds. But in an emergency caesarean in the middle of the night, Tessa gave birth to 14.
The dog went into labor at home, but Tessa’s owners took her to the vet because she was struggling to deliver her puppies.
Tessa’s owners, Michelle and Andy Robinson, and their children, said Tessa had difficulty producing enough milk to feed all the puppies at the same time.
The Robinson family work in shifts to cover the 24-hour feeding schedule.
They have even color-coordinated the puppies’ fur to determine who has been fed.