ISABELLA ROSSELLINI - ROSSELLINI PLAYS MIDWIFE TO GUIDE DOG

ROSSELLINI PLAYS MIDWIFE TO GUIDE DOG

Actress ISABELLA ROSSELLINI is celebrating after a Labrador she has nursed labour gave birth to nine puppies.
The Blue Velvet star's guide dog guest went into labour on Friday (02May08) and the actress was left speechless when, one by one, the babies were born.
She says, "She (mother) is yellow but all the puppies are black."
The entire litter will be trained to become guide dogs.
Rossellini volunteers for the Guide Dog Foundation, and helps to train dogs to become the eyes of blind people by taking them to restaurants and on the underground in New York, where she lives.
She says, "I also make my house available for mama dogs to have their puppies and be with me for two months."
The actress admits she was a little nervous when the labour began because she was at home all alone - and had to call for delivery advice.
She adds, "The first one (puppy) I was there by myself... I called (the Guide Dog Foundation) and said, 'What do I do?' and they said, `You have to cut the umbilical cord.'
"I cut the umbilical cord, I got the baby, I had to massage them... I was afraid to do something wrong."