Chelsea is proving to be a mum in a million -- caring for nine pups conceived through artificial insemination.

The pure-bred Golden Retriever had her litter five days ago -- becoming the first dog in Bermuda to give birth using semen flown in chilled from America.

Yesterday, mother and pups were all doing fine -- and already all the puppies have been found homes.

Last May, owner Carol Martin arranged for semen from a champion US dog to be flown to Bermuda.

Chelsea was artificially inseminated by veterinarian Dr. Maureen Ware and five days ago ten puppies were born. Unfortunately one died within 48 hours of being born.

"I helped deliver the puppies. There were just myself and Chelsea,'' said Mrs Martin, who also used artificial insemination for the first time in Bermuda to bring a foal into the world.

She used the method with Chelsea because of difficulties in getting pure-bred dogs for breeding in America or Canada.

Chelsea, she said, is also a bad traveller and ran the risk of losing the pregnancy if forced to travel abroad.

"There is a need for pure-bred dogs in Bermuda and this is one way of achieving that. This helps to upgrade the dogs rather than breeding them locally,'' added Mrs Martin, of Hamilton Parish.

"It took a lot of hard work and a lot of coordination with the people in America, but now I have done it I can pass the details on to other people,'' she said.

Last night Dr. Ware said it was the first time such a technique -- using chilled semen brought in from America -- had been used.

"It is the first time this technique has been used for a dog in Bermuda, where the semen has been chilled and flown into the Island,'' said Dr. Ware.