SUNDAY turned out to be a Mother’s Day to remember for the Wardle family of Galashiels when their two-year-old Irish Setter Poppy gave birth to no fewer than 15 puppies.

“We’re told the world record for the breed is 16 and that the average litter is around eight or nine, so it was quite a surprise when they kept on coming,” said mum Lisa.

“It was certainly a Mother’s Day we will never forget.

“I’m happy to report that Poppy and all the newcomers – eight boys and seven girls - are doing well, although, as you can imagine, things are a bit chaotic in the Wardle household right now.

“When we got Poppy two years ago we didn’t really think about her having pups, but she’s been such a lovely natured pet, we decided that motherhood would suit her.”

The Wardles, who live in St Andrew Street, decided to get in touch with Anne and Gordon Douglas of Jedburgh, the owners of Poppy’s father Murphy.

“We knew they had recently got another Irish Setter called Rowan so we arranged for Poppy to pay him a visit at the end of January.

“When the vet confirmed the mating had been successful and Poppy was pregnant we were told to expect eight or nine puppies – we had no idea we would end up with 15!”

The puppies will stay with the family until they are eight weeks old before being sold to good homes.

Meanwhile, Lisa, husband Peter and children Abi (17), Ben (15) and young Jack (7) are “taking it in shifts” to ensure the youngsters come to no harm.

“I know it will be wrench to let them all go, but we’ve don’t really have the space for another dog,” said Lisa.

“We’ve already been contacted by people via Facebook wanting to buy the pups which doesn’t surprise me as Irish Setters are super friendly dogs.”