They were prepared for 3 puppies. Instead, they got 18.

When she found out her dalmatian Miley was pregnant for her first litter, breeder Cecilia Lanton Bunkergot was excited and prepared to care for the dog through a successful gestation.

Miley’s vet, after several ultrasounds and x-rays, predicted that Miley would give birth to roughly 3 puppies when the time came. This wasn’t too shocking, as dalmatian’s first litter is usually smaller than the 8-10 average litter size.

As time went on, Cecilia wasn’t exactly sure that made sense, due to the growing belly on Miley. It seemed a little too big for three puppies. But, she focused on making sure the pregnancy was healthy and trusting her vet to take good care of Miley.

When the time came for Miley to give birth, it turned out that Cecilia’s instincts were right. After baby 3, more puppies came. In fact, an incredible 15 more puppies were born, meaning Miley’s first litter was 18 puppies.

Birthing the 12 female and 6 male dalmatian puppies took Miley 13 hours of labor and earned her a breaking record of the largest dalmatian pup litter in all of Australia’s history.

With so many babies to take care of, Cecilia and her husband stepped in as extra caregivers, feeding the puppies milk and helping to make sure they were all healthy and happy. Each puppy got its own colored collar to mark it as special.

They were prepared for 3 puppies. Instead, they got 18.