Service dog gives birth to a litter of eight puppies in Florida airport

A service dog named Ellie, which is short for Eleanor Rigby, went into labor and delivered eight puppies in the middle of a terminal at Tampa International Airport on Friday. Photo / Tampa Fire Rescue

A service dog went into labor and delivered eight puppies in the middle of a terminal at Tampa International Airport on Friday.

City of Tampa Fire Rescue was on the scene to provide support to the new mother and documented the delivery.

Ellie the service dog was accompanying a passenger en route to Philadelphia when her litter decided it was time to make its entrance into the world, reports Daily Mail.

Tampa Fire Rescue shared the sweet moments over social media.

"An air traveler's service dog is delivering puppies now," the department wrote in a post shared on Twitter. "We're a full-service department!"

Photos shared with multiple posts caught a smiling crowd gathered nearby, cheering Ellie the yellow lab on.

Ellie's owner was right by her side as the two-year-old Labrador retriever gave birth unexpectedly to a litter of eight, include seven male puppies and one female puppy.

Paramedics, Ellie's owner, other travelers and airport personnel gather around the dogs. Photo / Tampa Fire Rescue

Dressed in denim capri pants and a Hawaiian-print shirt, the owner snuggled right up to Ellie to comfort her through the process.

Down on the ground right next to seating at one of the gates, the miracle of life unfolded before everyone's eyes.

It was quite a scene to take in, too.

Plastic and cotton mats were placed on the ground, to give Ellie a sterile surface and protect the carpeting in the terminal.

The paramedics, Ellie's owner, other air travelers and airport personnel watched and waiting for each of the puppies to join the rest of the brood, over the span of about an hour.

The father to the little ones, named Nugget, (above), was also traveling with the crew and was there for the birth. Photo / Tampa Fire Rescue

Finally, they all made their way into the world, one by one, and got cleaned up on a black and green blanket, before they could snuggle up to their mom.

The father to the little ones, named Nugget, was also traveling with the crew and was there for the birth.

After it was all said and done, the department gave credit where credit was due, tweeting: "Tampa paramedics do it all! Paramedics Larry Glanton and Lt Natalie Brown teamed up to deliver the eight puppies."

And now, in addition to their human, both Ellie and Nugget have their own little canine family to take care of.

Ellie is short for the service dog's full name, which is Eleanor Rigby.