Dog Sets Largest Litter Record at North Carolina Rescue with 15 Puppies: 'We Were Shocked'

A North Carolina dog just gave birth — and broke a record in the process!

Perfectly Imperfect Pups (PIPs), a foster-based Raleigh rescue, took in a Great Dane named Meadow on Oct. 8. Two days later, she gave birth to 15 puppies.

Meadow's litter is the largest the rescue has seen in its three years of operation, Nicole Kincaid, PIPs' founder and director, tells PEOPLE.

It is also the biggest litter she has seen in her 13-year rescue career. (The world record for largest litter of puppies is 24, per Guinness World Records.)

According to Kincaid, the 2.5-year-old Great Dane's puppies are unusual for another reason — they are primarily male.

"Shockingly enough, we have 12 boys, which is a huge number of boys out of a litter," she says.

PIPs announced the record-breaking litter with a Facebook post, writing, "Puppies, puppies and more puppies!! Mama Meadow and her crew are doing great."

In one photo shared by PIPs, the newborn puppies cuddle up to and snooze on Meadow in a large pile, each tiny gray pup indistinguishable — save for their colored collars.

"We were shocked to find out how many puppies she actually had and that all had survived and were doing well," Kincaid tells PEOPLE. "They just turned a week [old], and they are all gaining weight, and that is thanks to the foster parents who are bottle-feeding in between Mama Meadow feeding."

According to the rescue director, the puppies are thriving, and Shari, who is currently fostering Meadow, is helping the "incredible mom" ensure all 15 puppies' needs are met.

PIPs took in the pregnant Great Dane after the rescue's staff noticed she was being given away on a local social media site. Kincaid says she reached out to the poster right away, but Meadow was passed on to "somebody who didn't have experience" before she could intervene.

"Within two days, they contacted us and asked if we could still take [Meadow], and of course, we were delighted to take her in," Kincaid says. "We got her to our vet the next day, and the day after, she started going into labor."

Before arriving at PIPs, Meadow had an "unsteady past," Kincaid says. She had lived in five different homes since giving birth to a previous litter in February.

The director says this has nothing to do with the "sweet" dog, adding, "People get a large breed dog, and they don't realize what they're getting themselves into."

"We are delighted that this will be her final [litter], and her next home will be her forever home," Kincaid says. "We will also make sure that all 15 puppies go to homes that are experienced with large breed dogs."

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The director also says that all of PIPs' adopters sign a contract in which they commit to a dog for its entire life and pledge to contact the rescue if they can no longer care for them. The rescue also has a post-adoption team that follows up with adopters and answers medical and training questions.

"Mama Meadow and her puppies are going to make amazing dogs and family members, and we are so excited to see their bright future," she says.