Four-year-old Shadow went under the knife at 7am on Monday in an emergency Caesarean section.
Her owner took her to the clinic after she had already given birth to three puppies.
“After four hours of no activity and a puppy that didn’t make it, her owner brought her into us expecting the worst,” veterinarian Patrycja Zimmermann said.
“We took radiographs straight after Shadow’s arrival to see if any more puppies were on the way and made the amazing discovery of 10-plus puppies inside.
“We quickly checked the fetal heartbeats, and were praying for the best outcome for her.”
Vets discovered a large amount of blood when they commenced the birthing and were required to perform a ovariohysterectomy, or removal of the female reproductive organs.
The procedure saved Shadow’s life.
Over the next 45 minutes, the veterinary team were able to remove the remaining 18 surviving puppies via C-section.
Shadow is now recovering at home.
The litter of 21 falls short of the 24 born to another Neapolitan Mastiff, named Tia, in Cambridgeshire in the UK in 2004.
However, it eclipses the previous known Australia record of 19, held jointly by a Dalmatian and American bulldog.
This article first appeared on 7News and has been republished here with permission.
