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Labrador gives birth to 13 puppies
Beau gave birth to 13 Labrador puppies (not pictured).

Litter thought to be one of the largest ever for the breed

A black Labrador has given birth to what is believed to be one of the largest ever litters recorded for the breed.

When Beau was five weeks pregnant with her puppies, the veterinary surgeon anticipated that she might give birth to around five or six puppies. But it came as quite a shock to Beau’s owner, dog breeder Leah Barrett, when she ended up delivering 13!


According to The Independent, the litter is just two short of the record thought to have been set by a Scottish black Labrador in 2014.

Ms Barrett commented: “The vet told us it would take about an hour for each puppy to be born. We thought there could be up to eight, so roughly calculated eight-hour labour. But after seven were born in just 40 minutes, we were absolutely gobsmacked. They were just flying out.”

While Beau was giving birth her placenta came loose, trapping one of the puppies in the birth canal. It took Leah and her sister around 40 minutes to deliver the puppy, but when he arrived he wasn’t breathing or moving.

Thankfully, Ms Barrett had done her research on the subject and used special equipment to suck the fluid out of the puppies lungs. “We were all panicking, we thought we had lost her. It took about 10 to 15 minutes to get her breathing,” she said.

Leah told The Independent that she has been getting up in the middle of the night to feed the puppies, as Beau only has teats for 10 of the puppies. 

She added that delivering the litter - which consists of seven boys and six girls - was one of the “most beautiful” things she has ever done. 

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.