A FAMILY from Limerick has enjoyed a summer to remember after their beloved Labrador/border collie gave birth to 16 adorable puppies.
Lockdown has been a time of quiet contemplation for many across Ireland, but it’s been a slightly different story for the Killing family in Crecora.
Just prior to lockdown, the family had been due to take Archie, their Irish-setter/English-spring spaniel off to be neutered at the vets.
Lockdown put paid to those plans, however, paving the way for an extraordinary turn of events.
On Saturday, July 25, the 15-month-old Bella gave birth to 10 adorable puppies – but she wasn’t quite done there.
The following day she gave birth to a further six pups – eight boys and eight girls in total.
Though one of the babies sadly died in the days that followed, the tally represents the second largest number ever recorded in a single delivery.
It also equalled the record set for the largest litter to arrive in a single deliver in Ireland.
The new arrivals have proven quite a handful for Mary Killing, already a mum-of-five in her own right, who admitted to the Limerick Leader that the arrivals left her “in absolute shock”.
“The vet had told us she was going to have eight to 10 puppies. So having 15 was quite phenomenal. It’s a record I think,” she said.
In fact, Mary was in the midst of a classic bit of lockdown telly binging when the first dog arrived.
“It was a shock to the system. Bella was panting heavily inside on my sofa. I’m in the middle of a re-run of Game of Thrones with me feet up, and next up, a pup was delivered onto my lap. You can imagine! So we steered her in under the stairs. We had a big duvet cover set up for her,” she said.
“We had to get a suitcase the following morning to put them into to count them as they were wriggling all over the place. It was just phenomenal. We were in awe. They are all different colours – and some of them have the mark of Zorro on their head, some have it on their chest.”
Thankfully Mary, who works in the University of Limerick president’s office, has been able to combine working from home with looking after the adorable dogs.
”It’s been tough, it’s been hard work. I’ve been rotating them onto her teats because she obviously hasn’t got 15. So, I was on my hands and knees. It coincided with my 10 days annual leave from UL, which was great,” she said.
The family are now preparing to send the various puppies off to their new homes this weekend.
They aren’t taking any money for puppies either, with the Killing family’s only wish being that each of the dogs goes to a good home.
The first-born of the litter, Walter, will stay with the family, while one of the pups is going to Mary’s eldest son, Josh.
One thing is for sure – it's going to be emotional. The house will probably be a lot quieter afterwards too, though Walter will no doubt keep up his end of the bargain there.
