Meet Queeny the Dalmatian who just gave birth to 16 happy puppies, surprising Quebec family
CBC
When Queeny the Dalmatian went into labour on Dec. 27, her owner, Isabelle Chouinard, expected half a dozen puppies — or maybe 10 at most.
But hours in, the puppies kept coming at the family's home in Saint-Paul-d'Abbotsford, Que., 50 kilometres east of Montreal.
Even after the birth of eight puppies, Queeny's belly still looked huge.
Six hours later, a total of 16 squealing pups had emerged, all of them healthy to date.
With Queeny doing well and in recovery, the family has gained attention across the province with the litter being likened to the Disney classic 101 Dalmatians.
"I don't know if we hold the record with 16, but the average is really … seven to nine," said Chouinard.
"So 10 or 12 could happen but that's a large litter.… Usually the problem [is] there could be 15 born but a couple die on the first day. But for us, all 16 are still alive."
Chouinard says it was love at first sight when they met and adopted Queeny two years ago in the nearby city of Granby.
Avid Disney fans, the family loves their energetic and affectionate Dalmatian and decided to breed her — as they did one other time with their previous dog.
"We wanted to do it once for the experience," said Chouinard, adding that the family put in their guesses on how many puppies to expect.
"Some people said six or eight. Me, I said 10 because I saw her and found she was very big," said Chouinard.
Dr. Louise Dubois, a veterinarian with 33 years experience with a practice in Granby, has never seen a litter this big.
"You have to understand that there are not even 16 teats on a female dog, so in terms of feeding the puppies, it's a little more complex, a little more complicated," said Dubois.The family has been helping Queeny manage those complexities for the past three weeks, said Chouinard, bottle-feeding the pups formula two or three times a day.
"We feed eight at a time. We have to make a change every hour to let her feed the puppies," said Chouinard.
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