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A pregnant dog so large that she could hardly walk amazed a rescue team when she gave birth to a litter of 11 puppies.
Meter Maid arrived at the Texas shelter Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) in February from a city shelter. Initially, she was shut down and fearful—her pregnancy was so advanced that she was struggling to walk.
"Our teams showed her all the love as she began to warm up to us and even put her on a wagon so she could spend some time in the sun," an APA! spokesperson told Newsweek.
Despite her initial challenges, after just 16 days at the shelter, Meter Maid gave birth to 11 healthy puppies, much to the delight of the shelter staff.
The puppies are all doing well and Meter Maid has taken to motherhood beautifully.
Each year, 6.3 million pets enter U.S. shelters for an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 last January, an increase of 1,744 compared to January 2022, 24Petwatch's Shelter Watch Report found.
Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.
APA! shared Meter Maid's story on their TikTok page @austinpetsalive where people have been delighted by the mama dog's happy ending.
"Good lord that's not a meter maid that's a whole freight carrier," said one TikToker. "So many babies."
Another commenter said: "That face! I hope this is her last litter. She deserves all the time off!"
The shelter confirmed that this would be her last litter as Meter Maid will now be spayed before she becomes available for adoption.
"While mama dogs like Meter Maid do a lot of the work raising their pups, it still costs us about $1,000 to feed, vaccinate and house a family of dogs for several weeks," the shelter said.
Many shelters don't have the resources to care for pregnant or nursing mothers, but as a no-kill shelter, APA! is determined to give Meter Maid and her puppies all the love and attention they need until she finds a home.
When they are old enough, the puppies will be vaccinated and neutered before being made available for adoption.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
About the writer
Alice Gibbs is a Newsweek Senior Internet Trends & Culture Reporter based in the U.K. For the last two years ... Read more