A dog lover was left stunned and proud when her beloved bulldog gave birth to an astounding 20 puppies in one litter.
Cali, a two-year-old pedigree pooch, had to endure grueling 24-hour labor before popping out the massive litter.
Amber Rees, 20, is understandably very proud of what her four-legged-friend had accomplished especially since Cali had only been predicted to have six puppies.
Amber, from Swindon, added that she’s also resting up since she stayed up to comfort her pet throughout the whole process.
Once they’re old enough, Amber is planning to sell them. But for now, they’re happily nursing away with their mom.
Amber said: “It’s been chaotic and crazy but quite fun.
“Seeing all those puppies together has been really heartwarming and sweet – but it does test your patience sometimes.
“When we first took her for a scan the vet told us to expect six or at most eight puppies.
“That was how many I expected in my head. It happened last Wednesday. I said, ‘Cali looks like she’s panting a bit.’
“I was staring at her – and then she just started to push!
“Within two minutes there was a puppy – and they just kept on coming. It got to the eighth one and it didn’t look like she was slowing down.
“I was shocked but delighted.
“She calmed down a bit after the first 12 so we rushed her to the vet.
”They gave her an injection to help give her contractions and push the last six out.
“It was a bit of a traumatic birth and Cali’s water broke before some of them were ready to come out.
“The others are happy and healthy, fortunately, and we’ve stocked up on beds and dog food for them.
“We are so proud of Cali, she’s done so well, all things considered.
“This was her first litter and it was tough to see her go through so much effort but she’s been such a good mother.
“She was very tired for a few days but she’s started wagging her tail again and is back to her funny, ditzy old self.
“I’m running on empty now, but it was so worth it. Even though they are only a week old they have grown so much.”
Sadly, only eleven out of the twenty puppies survived but the deaths were not really unexpected.
She added: “The vet said he was surprised there wasn’t more [deaths]. Cali did well to push out the ones that she did.
“We haven’t decided any names yet other than Bambi, for the last one.
“I thought about going with Disney princesses for the females but after calling one of them Ariel, I decided that it didn’t really suit her.
“When a new owner buys them, they can rename them.
“This is my first breed – I have just registered as a breeder. I still work part-time but I’d love to go full-time as a breeder.”
Amber isn’t sure, but the massive litter may have been a local record.
Replaced!