Litter of 21 puppies keeps everyone busy

COLUMBIA, IL - Meet the very prolific Daisy Mae -- your usual American bulldog. With a not-so-usual family.

She delivered 21 puppies over a 20-hour period six weeks ago. Four of them died during delivery, but the Ballard family near Columbia, Illinois, can tell you 17 is still a handful.

"We're going to retire her. This is enough," Shari Ballard offered.

The proud papa is a registered bulldog named Groucho who is owned by a friend of Daisy Mae's family. Groucho has stopped by once to say hello.

Shari and Scott Ballard -- along with their two sons -- remember that long night when the hits just kept on coming.

"We stayed up all night with her and every couple hours one would come out. And i kept thinking, 'well, that has to be the end,'" Scott Ballard recalled.

The family worked together helping Daisy Mae with her ordeal, bottle-feeding the offspring shortly after birth until just a few days ago, when they started eating dried puppy chow.