MASON CITY, Iowa - It was not your average doggy childbirth. A dog gave birth to 13 puppies in a delivery that started just before sunrise and went on for hours.
By early afternoon, Copenhagen's Star Hunter, "Star" to the family, lay surrounded by her 13 offspring.
Giggling and gently cradling a squirming pup, 7-year-old Rebecca Faught proudly proclaimed, "Star just kept having more and more and more."
Rebecca's parents, Tad and Lori, let her skip school Wednesday. Instead, the child got a hands-on science lesson - watching and helping the family's AKC registered yellow labrador give birth.
Resting in her makeshift maternity ward in the laundry room, "Star" kept a close watch over the pups - five black and eight yellow.
Labradors are noted for having large litters, according to veterinarian Jeffrey Cornick of Pioneer Animal Hospital, so "13 is a lot, but not extremely rare."
That's a lot of puppies!
By early afternoon, Copenhagen's Star Hunter, "Star" to the family, lay surrounded by her 13 offspring.
Giggling and gently cradling a squirming pup, 7-year-old Rebecca Faught proudly proclaimed, "Star just kept having more and more and more."
Rebecca's parents, Tad and Lori, let her skip school Wednesday. Instead, the child got a hands-on science lesson - watching and helping the family's AKC registered yellow labrador give birth.
Resting in her makeshift maternity ward in the laundry room, "Star" kept a close watch over the pups - five black and eight yellow.
Labradors are noted for having large litters, according to veterinarian Jeffrey Cornick of Pioneer Animal Hospital, so "13 is a lot, but not extremely rare."
That's a lot of puppies!