Cecilia Lanton Bunkergot of Ballarat, Australia loves Dalmatians. When Cecilia Lanton Bunkergot got the exciting news that her dog Miley was pregnant, she was ecstatic but very prepared. As the proud owner of a prestigious breeding program that has produced numerously titled and championed dogs over 27 years, Cecilia is the definition of an expert when it comes to handling situations like this.
In other words, Cecilia knows just about everything there is to know about Dalmatians. So when she decided to breed a litter, she chose her titled show dog, Miley, to be a first-time mom. After careful consideration, she chose Astro Wonder Boy to be the stud.
The breeding took and like all responsible breeders, Cecilia provided Miley with veterinary care throughout her gestation period. With the help of x-rays and ultrasounds, her vet speculated that Miley would have 3 pups. As time passed Cecilia sensed that the count was off. However, Miley continued to be healthy and happy and that was the most important thing.
After her gestation passed, Miley began her labor and Cecilia called on the team of veterinary nurses that she had on standby to help ensure safe delivery. After the 3 predicted pups were born with no sign of stopping, Miley’s delivery team was shocked to deliver pup after pup. For Astro’s part, he must have been a true Wonder Boy because Miley gave birth to 18 healthy puppies to the surprise of everyone.
There are so many pups she needs the assistance of owners Adam and Nicola Morley, and their three sons, to feed them.
Button and the Morleys work in shifts 24-hours a day: Button feeds one group of pups, while the family feeds the other two, then an hour later they swap.
Mom and pups were all safe and healthy. Despite Cecilia’s initial shock, she was thrilled with the huge litter. ‘We’re bottle feeding them and it’s very tiring, especially as I have to work, but it’s also very nice,’ said Mrs. Morley, 31.
‘We thought she would have a standard size litter of eight or nine but we had a scan at the vets the day before and they said there were too many to count. We were shocked when 18 were born and they were all alive and healthy.’
Mr. Morley, 40, added: ‘We feed all the pups several times a day because Button can’t feed them all constantly. We all take it in turns – mine’s at 3 o’clock in the morning.’
Despite the round-the-clock care, the Morleys, from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, won’t have to keep it up for long due they only plan to keep one puppy.
The rest will be sold or given to family and friends who had dalmatians from the previous litter. ‘We will have to sell some as the cost of looking after the pups is astronomical,’ said Mrs. Morley.
