Owners of a dalmation who gave birth to a rare, huge litter of 16 spotted pups have had to have a letter signed by vets to confirm the unusually large brood.

Bitch Milly, who was coincidentally one of 16, gave birth to the huge haul of puppies six weeks ago.

Owners Lisa and Terry Elvins, from Church Stretton, Shropshire, said registering the pups with the Kennel club had proved difficult because no-one believed Milly had had such a large litter.

Mum-of-three Mrs Elvins said veterinarians couldn’t believe the size of the haul of puppies when they performed a caesarian operation on Milly.

She said: ‘During the caesarian the vet pulled out eight puppies and gave a sigh, so we thought that was it – but there were still eight more to go. The vets were amazed.

‘It’s really unusual to have so many puppies in one litter and the Kennel Club actually don’t believe us

‘We have had to get a signed letter from the vet confirming it was 16 puppies in one letter so they can all be registered.’

It’s all the more amazing as the bitch Milly was one of 16 puppies herself.’

The family are all hard at work taking care of the pups which will be sold on to new homes, however Mrs Elvins said they have decided to keep one – named Maisie.

She said:’Everyone loves having the dogs around – my daughter Becky had her 21st birthday party recently and the puppies were a really big hit, everyone wanted to see them.

‘It is really hard work looking after 16 dogs in the house as someone always has to be around them at feed time and as they are puppies they eat quite often.
‘But at the same time it is lovely and rewarding.

‘We are keeping Milly and one of the puppies Maisie, but the rest are all available to loving homes.’

Source: http://dailyanimallover.blogspot.com/2011/07/not-101-but-quite-few-16-dalmatian.html