Passengers Notice Service Dog Acting Ill In Airport – Turns Out Dog Is Close To Giving Birth

Nov 02, 2020

Eleanor Rigby, a Labrador service dog, gave birth to a litter of eight puppies all while in wait at the airport. She was traveling along with the puppies' dad, Nugget, and their owner, Diane Van Atter at the International Airport in Tampa, Florida in 2018. All was going well when Eleanor went into labor right in the middle of the airport.

Many passengers stayed right along with them to see the excitement unfold. Some took to social media to speak of their own experiences. One person told Fox News 13, they posted that they had been there since the fifth puppy was born. Another recalled how there was chaos at the airport due to Eleanor.

“I've been here since puppy number five...It is already on Instagram, we're getting lots of likes” one passenger stated to Fox News 13 

The reporter goes on to describe how Eleanor was about to board a plane that would be taking off with a destination to Philadelphia when she went into labor. This is when the fire department stepped in and delivered the puppies. Now Eleanor is a mom to 7 boy pups and 1 girl. She will have her paws full!

Tampa Fire and Rescue paramedics were happy to help and made sure everything went as easy as possible for Eleanor. All were delivered with no complications and seemed healthy. The paramedics kidded around and said the pups would be named after them with the girl being named after the reporter that was there from Fox News 13, Natalie.

Eleanor, Golden Nugget, and Diane Van After did miss their scheduled flight but they didn't seem to mind too much. They didn't have anywhere to be as they were on their way home. After all the commotion, home is exactly what they needed.

Unfortunately, with newborn pups, they could no longer travel by plane. Driving would be their only option. This is so the pups stay as safe as they can. Most airlines won't accept newborn babies less than two days old, and sometimes they have guidelines that state the baby must be older than two weeks.

With dogs, the wait is even longer. Too bad they couldn't fly but we're sure their drive was a fun one with all of those little pups!

Isn't this the sweetest thing? Have you ever experienced something like this? Let us know in the comments and be sure to spread the word about this cute and extraordinary story!