As she was about to take the plane with her mistress, a pregnant assistant dog gave birth to a magnificent litter of puppies in one of the airport terminals. A scene which many passengers attended.
Eleanor Rigby , Ellie for close friends, is a service dog who recently became the proud mother of 8 adorable puppies . This female Labrador-Retriever gave birth to them in an unusual place : the terminal of an airport .
The bitch was, in fact, to take the plane in the company of her owner Diane Van Atter and her other dog, also a Labrador, responding to the name of Golden Nugget . Ellie was pregnant and labor began shortly before the scheduled boarding time. The trio were supposed to take a flight from the airport in Tampa , Fla., Back to Philadelphia , Pa.
It was therefore in the heart of the F80 terminal that the birth took place, under the admiring and tender eyes of the passengers. Tampa firefighters were also on hand to respond to any issues, but there were none. The birth went perfectly. 7 males and 1 female were born there. They were all named after the first names of the rescuers who supervised their birth.
Of course, Diane Van Atter and the dogs missed their flight. Airline regulations prohibit them from boarding animals less than 2 days to 2 weeks old . She therefore had no choice but to make the 1,700 km journey in a rental car.
Here is the video posted on the Tampa International Airport Facebook page:
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