Great Dane puppies are born 29 YEARS after their father’s death thanks to their owner who froze the champion dog’s sperm in 1985
- A Great Dane that died in 1990 helped conceive a litter of nine puppies born on Valentine’s Day
- Topper was a Great Dane born in 1980 but his owner, Marilyn Herdejurgen, had the dog’s semen frozen 34 years ago
- Topper died in 1990 but his sperm was used to impregnate Herdejurgen’s latest Great Dane, three-year-old Rubix
- The procedure is not new, but the long gap between the father’s death and the conception is unusual
A litter of puppies have been born using frozen semen from a champion Great Dane who died 29 years ago.
The nine dogs were fathered by a dog called Topper who died in 1990.
Topper’s owner was Marilyn Herdejurgen, from Houston, Texas, and was the first dog she ever competed in shows with.
A Great Dane that died in 1990 helped conceive a litter of puppies born on Valentine’s Day. The Great Dane pictured here, is three-year-old Rubix
Topper was a Great Dane born in 1980 but his owner, Marilyn Herdejurgen, had the dog’s semen frozen 34 years ago which was kept on ice until last year
‘They are special, our first one,’ Herdejurgen said to KHOU. ‘We didn’t know how big he was going to get, so I taught him to sit my lap. And they grow to be about 170 pounds, and he still wanted to sip in my lap driving down the road!’
Herdejurgen had the foresight to freeze some of his semen before her big dog died.
It stayed frozen for 34 years until her new Great Dane, Rubix, was ready to have her own litter.
Although the technology isn’t new and is a relatively common procedure nowadays, what makes this group special is the 34-year gap.
Topper died in 1990 but his sperm was used to impregnate Herdejurgen’s latest Great Dane, three-year-old Rubix, pictured here
‘These are the oldest puppies that have been produced from the frozen semen,’ Herdejurgen said.
‘It’s strange…that it’s been so long ago, and here these puppies are from Topper. It’s pretty exciting. This is I think a little miracle,’ Herdejurgen continued.
Dr. Dikeman from the Brittmore Animal Hospital is the veterinarian who carried out the procedure and says it is the oldest case of frozen semen being used to produce puppies that he has ever seen.