Mama Dog Gives Birth To 6 Puppies in Snowbank, Burrows Hole & Curls Up w/ Them to Keep Them Alive

Never underestimate a mother’s instinct. Throughout the animal kingdom moms can do incredible things to protect and care for their offspring.

This winter, a dog gave birth in harsh conditions—but miraculously saved her babies’ lives with her survival skills.

In February, a family in Red Lake, Minnesota saw a dog curled up in the snow.

They realized that the dog wasn’t alone—it was a mother, cradling her six puppies with her body to keep them warm in the harsh winter weather.

The mother had apparently given birth to the puppies in the snowbank, and to keep them from freezing to death, she burrowed a hole in the snow where the family could curl up together.

All the dogs were miraculously alive. The puppies were about three weeks old when they were found.

The family took the dogs out of the cold and drove them to Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue, a local shelter.

They named the heroic mother dog Snowbelle. The family slowly recovered from their ordeal.

“They were very hungry and mama Snowbelle had no milk to give them,” the shelter wrote on Facebook.

“After a few days of warm shelter and good food Snowbelle started producing lots of milk for her babies.”

They said it was miraculous that the dogs made it through the harsh weather.

“We have no idea how Snowbelle and her puppies survived,” they wrote.

“This photo shows the great need for shelter and food in our very harsh winters.”

The good news is that the dogs are now doing well. The puppies were adopted, and Snowbelle, now known as Asha, is living at a rescue called Pet Projects. While she was timid and underweight at first—indicating a rough life on her own—as weeks passed she saw great improvement.

“She’s really blossomed,” Nancy Bruley, founder of Pet Projects, told The Dodo. “She walks well on the leash now and is much more confident. She jumps and puts her paws up on me. She’s definitely more outgoing than when she came in.”