The people at Tampa International Airport were in for quite a treat as they witnessed what must be the cutest thing you could ever see while waiting for a plane: a dog giving birth to eight puppies! The unexpected event happened recently to the surprise and delight of airline passengers waiting on their flights.
Meet Eleanor Rigby, a Labrador service dog who just became the proud pup mama to eight cute little pups while waiting for a flight at Tampa International Airport. She was traveling with her owner, Diane Van Atter, and her the father of the puppies, Golden Nugget, when she went into labor right in the airport.
A busy day
The whole thing caused quite a stir as excited onlookers witnessed the miracle in the middle of boarding Gate F80. Nothing can get weary travelers spirits up and get them to ignore their busy flight schedules quite like puppies being born!
A busy location!
Flight schedules were the last thing on anyone’s mind for more than three hours as the pups just kept on coming.
“I was here since puppy five. It’s on Instagram; We’re getting a lot of likes.” One passenger stated to Fox News 13
He was not the only one to take to Instagram to share the impressive sight.
Kristin Hamilton also went on Instagram to write:
“A Service Dog named Ellie, short for Eleanor Rigby caused quite a stir at Tampa airport yesterday. The two-year-old yellow lab went into labor before boarding a plane to Philadelphia. Tampa Fire Rescue delivered seven puppies; 6 girls and one boy. Congratulation to the new mom and safe travels.”
Eleanor, affectionately named Ellie, is now the proud new dog mom to multiple adorable puppies: seven boys and one girl! That’s a lot of puppies!
A little help
Thankfully, paramedics from Tampa Fire and Rescue arrived on the scene to make sure everything went smoothly in the ensuing 3-hour delivery. The first responders did an excellent job at keeping Ellie safe and ensuring that the little pups would meet their new family with a clean bill of health and ready to travel onwards towards home.
The paramedics did make a play for a reward though:
“They have our names of course! And of course, the last one’s Natalie, it’s a girl!” paramedic Natalie Brown happily revealed to Fox News 13.
“And Number two is Larry” chimed in her colleague, Larry Glanton, who was also on hand for the delivery.
Van Atter, Ellie, and Golden Nugget missed their flight, but it didn’t look like anyone minded. They were all on their way home to Pennsylvania when the unexpected event happened. Van Atter simply looked forward to going home and getting her new and improved dog family settled in.
With the pups just being born, air travel was no longer an option. They would have to drive home to keep the newborn puppies as safe as possible. Many airlines have a policy of not accepting newborn babies who are younger than two days (and in some cases two weeks). Newborn dogs may have to wait even longer. But hey, nothing makes a long drive better than ten cute dogs to keep you company!
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