You’ve Dane it! Cleo the Great Dane has enormous litter of NINETEEN healthy puppies in Arizona
- The mother Cleo delivered the litter by Caesarian section on Saturday morning
- Kingman Animal Hospital said all the puppies and their mother are doing well
- The largest known litter of puppies for any dog is 24, born to a Mastiff in 2004
A Great Dane in Arizona has give birth to an enormous litter of 19 healthy puppies.
Cleo, the mother, delivered the litter by Caesarian section on Saturday morning at Kingman Animal Hospital.
It is unusual for larger dog breeds to have C-sections, and it took 11 staff members to successfully deliver the puppies in a 40-minute operation.
The hospital posted a series of photographs, taken before and after the procedure in the treatment area (rather than the surgical room), on its Facebook page.
The super-sized litter is shown nestled against one another in a large crate and sleeping against their exhausted mother.
Cleo, the mother, delivered 19 healthy puppies at Kingman Animal Hospital in Kingman, Arizona
All 19 puppies and their mother are healthy and happy, the animal hospital said on its Facebook page
But Cleo and all nineteen of her puppies were in good health after post-op, the animal hospital wrote alongside the photos.
'Thank you all for the kind words and congrats to the momma dog and our hard working staff that came in for this emergency,' it added.
Cleo is owned by breeders who brought her along to the animal hospital after noticing she was extremely tired.
The hospital's office manager Cassie McEuen told KTVU that generally 13 would be considered a large litter, so to have 19 was something extraordinary.
The tiny puppies will grow into enormous Great Danes, a breed best known for their size and for being gentle giants
The puppies were photographed being checked over after the successful surgery in the veterinary hospital's treatment area
The owners are said to be looking into whether Cleo's litter constitutes a record among Great Danes
Mceuen added that the owners were inquiring as into whether Cleo might have broken a Guinness world record with her delivery.
The largest known litter of puppies for any dog is 24, born on November 9 2004 to Tia, a Neopolitan mastiff, in Cambridgeshire, England.
Tia's litter of nine females and 15 males were also born by Caesarian section, but one was still born, and three died in the first week.
Great Danes are best known for their size - the tallest dog ever recorded, a male Great Dane called Zeus, reached 44 inches (111.8cm) from paw to shoulder.
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