Posted on 05/27/2018 1:20:10 AM PDT by EinNYC
Travelers killing time at Tampa International Airport’s Gasparilla Bar got an unexpected show Friday when a dog gave birth to eight puppies near Gate F81.
The 2-year-old golden retriever, Eleanor Rigby, owner Diane Van Atter, and the puppies’ father, Golden Nugget, were waiting to board an afternoon flight home to Philadelphia when the dog went into labor.
They missed the flight, and for the next three hours created a fuzzy spectacle as crowds gathered with phones trying to capture the scene.
The puppies were delivered with assistance from Tampa Fire Rescue paramedics stationed at the airport, as well as a nurse who had to leave halfway though the delivery to catch her own flight.
Other passengers came and went, casually sipping their coffees and charging their phones as they watched puppy after puppy delivered on the carpet, airport spokeswoman Emily Nipps said.
"I’ve never seen anything like this in an airport, or otherwise," she said.
Van Atter said she has mobility and pain issues, Nipps said, and the dogs were service dogs, though Eleanor Rigby was still in training.
Van Atter’s stepmother, Karen James, of Bradenton, was also set to fly to Philadelphia. She said they knew Eleanor Rigby was pregnant, but believed the excitement of being in the airport around so many new people may have triggered the early birth.
James was talking to the Tampa Bay Times by phone from the airport when people started cheering in the background.
"Another one just came out!," she said.
She was holding Golden Nugget on a leash.
"I have to go, the father is getting excited," she said. "Every time she’s ready to deliver another one he starts jumping around."
James said the plan was to find a dolly somewhere in the airport to carry the pups and mother out. Then they’d go back to Bradenton where everyone would get some rest before figuring out how to drive to Philadelphia with a new litter.
No planes were delayed and all the puppies were successfully delivered. Seven males, and one female.
Apparently service animal organizations tend to spay/neuter the qualifying animals, but owner-trained service dogs can be left intact.
Not Lab, Golden.
Thank you for posting.
I believe that a fiasco such as this may be less likely to happen now in Oklahoma, if the new law on “fake service animals” extends to air travel.
That poor pet dog.
You're right. Tired eyes. But goldens AND labs have outstanding temperaments. I can't imagine most dogs putting up with this and not freaking out or snapping at people.
While a very small percentage have a valid reason for needing a "service animal" out of genuine physical necessity. What is happining today, as usual is people who don't really need them are gaming the system for a plethora of reasons.
Planes and trains are turning into moving barnyards which are not good or healthy for the traveling public at large.
Calling a pet a service animal should be a crime. If the woman and her husband are not blind or otherwise disabled the dog should not be allowed on the plane.
“A service dog in training” and the puppies father in tow. The woman is a clueless “trainer/breeder”.
They need a law against fake trainer/breeders.
I would like to see them try to call that bear a service animal and take it on a plane.
If the owner was a reputable breeder, they would not be boarding a plane with a dog about to give birth.
This is animal abuse. Dogs whelp in a very narrow time frame. The owner knew (or should have known) when she was due and traveled with her anyway.
PS - I don’t believe for a minute this is a service dog which by law is trained to perform a task.
Exactly.. that’s what I’m saying. She even looks like a loon.
In this case the service dogs look a scam to free doggie airplane flights.
these sure look like fake service animals to me....lulz....whata scam
But she has mobility issues!
Her real disability is being a jackass.
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