Mama dog found huddled with newborn puppies to shield them from frigid Minnesota snow

Temperatures have been at minus 12 this winter in Minnesota, so it’s being called “a miracle” that a homeless dog gave birth in a snowdrift and kept her puppies alive there for three weeks.

That’s how long it took before “a concerned family” stepped in and took the dogs to a shelter, according to Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue, which is 260 miles northwest of Minneapolis in Trail.

Photos shared by the nonprofit shelter on Facebook show the lethargic mom and six puppies were found huddled in a foot-deep hole dug in the snow.

Red Lake Rosie’s staff members have since named the mom Snowbelle.

“We have no idea how Snowbelle and her puppies survived,” the shelter wrote Feb. 14 on Facebook.

“They were very hungry and mama Snowbelle had no milk to give them. After a few days of warm shelter and good food Snowbelle started producing lots of milk for her babies.”

An update posted Saturday on Facebook revealed all of her puppies had been adopted into permanent homes — and Snowbelle has been spayed.

Shelter officials say the size of the puppies indicates they were born in December, when AccuWeather says temperatures ranged from a high of 44 degrees to a low of minus 5 in the state.

Snowbelle is the third dog rescued this winter from “a snowy field” with a litter of puppies, Red Lake Rosie’s trustee Kim Williams told McClathy News.

“All three of these momma dogs and their 20 puppies are safe, most of them adopted into their forever homes by now, due to the compassion of concerned community members,” Williams said.

The story of Snowbelle’s rescue has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook, with some people asking to adopt the dogs and others lauding the mom for keeping the puppies alive in the worst of circumstances.

“Amazing story of the strength of a momma protecting her babies (and) people helping out an animal in need,” posted Eileen Rother on Facebook.

“That’s one amazing puppy mama to keep those puppies alive when it’s been so cold!!” said Kim Schreyer Cleaves.

“Once again it’s a strong Mom that saves the babies!!!” Mary Paula Van Wert said.

This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Mama dog found huddled with newborn puppies to shield them from frigid Minnesota snow."