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Forget 101 Dalmatians, 16 are driving me dotty! Meet the unruly brood and the
human and canine mothers looking after them
As the July sun sets over a Shropshire smallholding, sheep graze quietly in the
fields, horses doze contentedly in their stables, and hawks circle majestically
in the skies above.
This rural scene is like something out of a painting by Turner or Constable, but
suddenly it erupts into chaos more reminiscent of the Keystone Kops.
Around the corner of a barn appear 16 frisky dalmatian puppies, tumbling and
scampering in every direction as they are pursued by their owner, 21-year-old
Becky Elvins.
Ruff and tumble: Milly with her litter of 16 pups - so many the kennel club told
her owners they wanted a vet's confirmation they were all born to the same
mother
As quickly as she can scoop them up and place them in their large wicker basket,
they spill out again, darting between her legs, nipping at her wellingtons and
endlessly disappearing and reappearing in a polka-dot whirl. I feel exhausted
just watching the bedtime bedlam which has been part of Becky's routine for the
past seven weeks.
As a trainee teacher, she spends her day handling classes of primary school
children — but that's nothing compared to looking after this brood, born to her
much-loved dalmatian Milly at the end of May.
More than a handful: Becky Elvins carts the litter round her family's Shropshire
smallholding in a wheelbarrow
Lots of spots: The dalmatian puppies jostle for space in their basket. The
unusually large litter had to be born by caesarean section
Playpen: The tiny pups play in a pen made from bales of hay
Bundles of joy: At two weeks old the litter began to show their spots
Shift work: The pups had to be fed in turn, to make sure that all of them
received enough milk to survive
This rural scene in Shropshire is like something out of a painting by Turner or
Constable, but suddenly it erupts into chaos more reminiscent of the Keystone
Kops. Around the corner of a barn appear 16 frisky Dalmatian puppies, tumbling
and scampering in every direction as they are pursued by their mother. All
belong to 21-year-old Becky Elvins, a trainee teacher who says a classroom of
children is nothing compared to this lot.
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