As they waited for their flight, the passengers at Tampa International Airport were treated to what had to be the sweetest thing anybody has ever seen while waiting for a flight: a dog giving birth to eight pups!

Thousands of airline customers were surprised and delighted when an unexpected incident occurred recently as they waited to board their aircraft.

Learn more about Eleanor Rigby, a Labrador service dog who just became the proud pup mom to eight adorable tiny puppies while waiting to board a flight at Tampa International Airport.

During her trip to the airport with her owner, Diane Van Atter, and the father of the pups, Golden Nugget, she went into labor and gave birth right there in the airport.

While waiting to board at Gate F80, hundreds of witnesses were awestruck by the miracle that took place in the heart of the busy airport.

There is nothing that can lift the spirits of exhausted travelers and make them forget about their hectic flying schedules quite like the birth of a puppy!

A busy location!

Due to the constant influx of puppies, flight schedules were the last thing on anyone’s mind for more than three hours.

“I’ve been here since puppy number five. This is on Instagram, and we’re receiving a lot of positive feedback.” According to Fox News 13, one of the passengers remarked

he wasn’t the only one who posted a picture of the spectacular scene on Instagram.

The following is another Instagram post from Kristin Hamilton:

At the Tampa International Airport yesterday, a Service Dog called Ellie (short for Eleanor Rigby) created quite a commotion.

Before boarding a plane to Philadelphia, the two-year-old yellow lab went into labor.

A total of seven pups were born by the Tampa Fire Rescue Department: six females and one guy. “Congratulations to the new mother and best wishes for a pleasant journey.”

Eleanor, also known as Ellie, is now the joyful new canine mom to a litter of gorgeous pups, which includes seven males and one girl, all of them are named after her. That is a significant number of pups!

A little help

Fortunately, paramedics from Tampa Fire and Rescue were sent to the site to ensure that everything went properly throughout the subsequent three-hour delivery.

It was a fantastic job by the first responders in keeping Ellie safe and ensuring that the small puppies would meet their new family with a clean bill of health and be ready to continue their journey home.

The paramedics, on the other hand, made a play for a reward:

Of sure, they know our identities! The final one is of course Natalie, and it’s a girl!” paramedic Natalie Brown said with delight when interviewed by Fox News 13.

In the words of her colleague, Larry Glanton, who was also there for the delivery: “And Number two is Larry.”

Van Atter, Ellie, and Golden Nugget were late for their flight, but it didn’t seem like anybody was bothered by it.

When the unforeseen occurrence occurred, they were all on their way back to their home in Pennsylvania.

In the end, Van Atter was just looking forward to returning home and settling in with her new and better dog family.

Because the puppies had just recently been born, flight travel was no longer a possibility.

They would have to travel back to their house in order to keep the newborn pups as secure as they could.

Many airlines have a policy of not letting newborn infants who are less than two days old on their flights (and in some cases two weeks).

It’s possible that puppies may have to wait much longer. No matter how lengthy the journey, nothing beats 10 adorable dogs to keep you company on the road.