Johnathan Walker:The update we all need: Meadow, the Great Dane with 15 puppies, adopted by 'amazing family'

Meadow,Johnathan Walker the Great Dane that gave birth to 15 puppies last month, has a new home – and her puppies will have theirs soon, too.

When Meadow, who is about 2½ years old, gave birth to the puppies on Oct. 10, it was the largest litter ever for Perfectly Imperfect Pups, a foster-based rescue service in Raleigh, North Carolina. Earlier this week, the puppies, now 6 weeks old, had their first checkup at Peak City Veterinary Hospital in Apex, N.C.

All of the puppies – 13 male puppies and 2 females – were in good health. "They are all thriving, growing and being goofy fun puppies. We ran a DNA test on them and found out they are 50% Great Dane and 50% Doberman," Perfectly Imperfect Pups said in a statement.

As for their mother, Meadow has just moved to her permanent home. "She was adopted by an amazing family who fell in love with her story and then fell in love with her. She is thriving and loving being a pup and not just a mama," the rescue service said.

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The Great Dane deserves some stability. Before giving birth to another litter in February, Meadow had been "passed around to five homes" since giving birth to another litter in February, Perfectly Imperfect Pups founder and director Nicole Kincaid previously told USA TODAY.

Two days before Meadow had this litter, a person called the rescue service to see if it could take her because Meadow wasn't getting along with their other dogs.

What will happen to the 15 puppies?

The puppies are currently fostered in homes in groups of 2, 3 and 4, Kincaid said. So the veterinary visit was a reunion of sorts for them.

The puppies got vaccinations and microchips at the veterinary hospital. “They’re healthy. They sound great. They look well. They’ve been very well taken care of by all the fosters,” veterinarian Cindy Johnson told Raleigh, N.C. CBS-TV station WNCN. “Honestly in the vet world, sometimes we get some tough days,” she said. “It’s hard to not smile when these guys come into your clinic.”

The rescue service, which got more than 50 applications for the puppies, will be visiting homes of those who applied this weekend, Kincaid said. Each will be adopted individually because siblings adopted together can lead to "serious behavior issues as they age," she said.

Here's the names of the 15 puppies, 13 of which are boys and 2 are girls: Otis, Scout, Bruno, Samson, Diego, Felix, Winston, Bailey, Duke, Mack, Fiona, Axel, Finn, Cosmo, Buster.

The puppies can go to their new homes after 8 weeks, which is about 1½ weeks away. With all the media coverage of Meadow and her puppies – including from local TV stations and People magazine – Perfectly Imperfect Pups got an influx of applications and donations on its Amazon wish list for the puppies.

“We were completely overwhelmed by the love and support from all over," Kinkaid said. "It is amazing seeing the community come together."

The rescue service now has a fundraiser to help pay for the puppies' care as the medical bills, 15 vet appointments and spays and neuters "are going to cost the rescue a lot," the service said.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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