Near RECORD size litter born!!

April 7, 2000 (we just heard about this so we wanted you to know...) A Saint Bernard dog in upstate New York gave birth to 16 live puppies, tying the second-largest puppy litter in recorded history, her owners said. The 2 1/2-year-old dog, King Triton's Ariel, originally delivered a litter of 17 Saint Bernard puppies April 7, but one of the puppies died shortly after birth, said her owner/breeder Greg Howard, according to a Reuters report. "She is doing great and all puppies are doing fine," said Howard, of Philmont, N.Y. He said the pups are feisty and hungry. The Guinness Book of World Records notes that 16 Great Danes were born in June 1987 in Little Hall, England. That litter originally totaled 23 but seven puppies died after birth. The largest ever recorded was delivered June 19, 1944, in Ambler, Penn., when 23 American foxhounds were born. Howard and his wife, Renee Wendover are taking turns with three-hour shifts to satisfy the insatiable new puppies. Ariel is recuperating from her laborious birth on a blanket in a blue children's pool and the puppies are brought to her for nursing eight at a time. Last year, Ariel's first litter yielded eight puppies. The new offspring will be sold for $600 when they are 8 weeks old.