A dog with a damaged foot was discovered by Stray Rescue of St. Louis. Of course, they intended to rescue, but they had no idea that they would be saving considerably more. ilovemydogsomuch writes

They found she had milk shortly after rescuing the dog. That’s when they realized this dog was a new mother with puppies around. Rescuers understood they needed to look for them as soon as possible.

They went straight to the mom dog’s den in the underbrush to see whether her pups were there. Rescuers brushed branches aside and crept through shrubs until they came to a little den.

There were not just a few puppies within the den, a hole in the earth that served as a’safe haven,’ but THIRTEEN! Their mother did an excellent job of concealing them in order to keep them safe and comfortable.

Before returning the pups and their mother to their rescue, rescuers carefully placed them one by one into a container. They were able to provide the mom and puppies all the medical attention they need there.

The mother will have surgery on her wounded leg, and all of the puppies will be spayed and neutered before being adopted when they reach the appropriate age.