Pet sitters help dog deliver 14 pups as owner away

Tilly gave birth to 14 pups altogether, however two were stillborn

Rhian Boxall was assured her brother's pregnant dog, Tilly, was unlikely to go into labour while they were pet sitting.

The labrador was not even expecting when Rhian's family offered to help but, months later, a scan revealed three-year-old Tilly was expecting a litter of about half a dozen.

However, she actually gave birth to 12 healthy pups a week earlier than expected, while Tilly's owner Meirion Thomas was abroad with his own family.

Marketing manager Rhian described the experience as a "rollercoaster of emotions" as 14 pups arrived in three waves over about 15 hours, although two did not survive.

Despite giving birth to 14 pups, it is not the largest litter a dog has had. The Guinness World Record belongs to a Neapolitan mastiff, who gave birth to a litter of 24 puppies.

In 2014 it was reported that a labrador in Scotland had given birth to 15 puppies, which its owner claimed was one of the biggest on record for the breed.

"I was completely on edge and didn't sleep a single wink for two nights," said the 47-year-old from Llanharan, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Rhian even found one of the healthy pups had been born in the garden after Tilly had gone outside in the early hours, supposedly to relieve herself.

Expert advice from an emergency vet suggested Rhian wrap the pup in a towel and use warming heat from a hairdryer to gently increase its temperature to successfully help it to survive.

Tilly and her pups were also helped by Rhian's husband Steve, 48, and their two children.

And, as a family, they are considering adopting one of the pups when they are old enough to leave the litter.

Rhian said a vet had assured her brother, Meirion, 51, a HGV driver from Beddau, that the earliest the pups would arrive was 3 September.

But Tilly and Mother Nature had other ideas, so Meirion ended up collecting them from his sister's house just hours after flying back from a holiday to the Canary Islands with wife Tracey and their three foster children.

"I was shocked," he said, although he admitted he was thankful for his sister stepping in to help Tilly.

"It was so frustrating being stuck all those miles away."