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Last month, Suzette Hall, founder of Logan’s Legacy 29 dog rescue, received a troubling call from a Good Samaritan. A woman named Lily reported finding a stray dog lying under a bush, her belly concerningly large.

Rescuers saved an overheated dog who turned out to be pregnant

The overheated and overweight dog appeared to be in the advanced stages of pregnancy, and Lily worried she could go into labor at any moment. “A mama in the bushes,” Hall wrote on Facebook. “And noticed just in time.”

When Hall and a volunteer named Mary arrived, their hearts sank at the sight of the dog, who they later named Gianna, huddled in the bushes. “When we pulled up, there she was in her safe spot,” Hall wrote. “Sweet Mama was trying to find a safe spot to have her babies.”

Gianna was overdue and stressed, which Hall feared could send her into labor during the rescue. The rescuers attempted to slip a leash over her head, but Gianna wouldn’t let anyone get close, so they set a humane trap with delicious treats instead. Gianna entered the trap within minutes, and the door shut behind her.

The dog was rescued and safely gave birth to a litter of beautiful puppies

Hall and Mary then carried the crate to the car and rushed Gianna to the animal hospital. Thankfully, she was still pregnant when they arrived at Camino Pet Hospital. Understandably stressed from the ordeal, Gianna felt instantly at home with her new friends at the clinic. “Her smile says it all,” Hall wrote. “She knew she was safe.”

The vet team gave Gianna a thorough checkup, including an ultrasound scan to examine her babies more closely. The rescuers were shocked to learn just how many pups she was carrying. “She is expecting [six] puppies in the next two weeks,” Hall wrote on Facebook, “so we really saved [seven] lives that day.”

With no time to spare, Hall’s friend, Kim Lavigne, offered to be Gianna’s emergency foster mom. Three days after arriving at Lavigne’s house and just six days after her rescue, Gianna gave birth to a beautiful litter of puppies. “She is such a good mama,” Hall wrote in an update on Facebook. “And I am so happy she didn’t have them in the bushes.”

It’s been a few weeks since the puppies’ birth, and the entire little family is doing better than ever. Gianna’s mothering instincts have flourished as her babies grow stronger and more rambunctious. Hall hopes to find the entire family permanent homes once the babies are big enough to leave their mom. Until then, she’ll keep soaking up Gianna and her babies’ adorable updates from their foster mom. “[The puppies] are so sweet, yawning and giving kisses,” Hall wrote on Facebook. “And Mama Gianna is so proud.”