As dog rescuers, Alice and Jeff, a couple from Macon, Mississippi, never know where their next mission will take them.

They have been doing good work for quite some time and have witnessed many surprises along the way. However, when Jeff’s friend told them about the white Shepherd dog he spotted on his logging trip, they immediately began to wonder.

They knew the road he was referring to went through the woods, surrounded by nothing but gravel roads and wilderness. So, the couple rushed into action without delay!

A Call for Help From the Wilderness

The Mississippi couple, the founders of Southern Pup Rescue, kept driving through the woods until they finally spotted a white lump moving by the road. As they approached, they realized that it was the dog their friend had mentioned.

They immediately pulled over and tried to befriend her. And, as it turned out, that was much easier than they expected!

This strikingly beautiful pooch was genuinely friendly. She recognized the good intentions in the couple and instantly switched into her cuddle bug mode, hoping they would save her.

As Alice petted her, she noticed the dog’s mammary glands and assumed she was a nursing mom abandoned in the area with her litter. However, after scoping the woods for a little while, the couple couldn’t find anything. There was no sign of her babies.

Then, to their surprise, the mama dog took the initiative!

She slowly began to walk away, signaling Alice and Jeff to follow her. She would cross a few yards and then turn around to see if the couple was on the track.

This went on for a mile, making her rescuers wonder if she was leading them to her babies or heading home.

“It’s been a mile. I don’t know if she’s heading home. There’s nothing but gravel roads,” Alice wrote in a Facebook video.

Then, all of a sudden, the dog turned into a ditch, leaving the couple shocked to the core!

A Heart-Stopping Discovery

It was the most beautiful and most heartbreaking surprise at the same time. Right there, lying in the ditch, were nine newborn babies huddled together.

**“She turns to the ditch, and I look over, and her nine fat babies are just a few feet off the road in a ditch that, within 45 minutes to an hour, would have been filling up with water when a storm was coming through,” Alice told GeoBeats Animals._

Thanks to their momma’s determination, they were literally found just minutes before the big storm. And now, they were about to be saved.

Alice and Jeff scooped up the momma, now named Marathon (after her brave venture), and her babies into the car. After a long drive home, they made a comfy nursing area where Marathon could feed her babies safely.

It was truly a miracle, knowing that the entire family got a new chance. Who knows what would’ve happened if they had still been stuck in that ditch…

Although she had been living in the woods for quite some time, the momma adapted to the house within seconds! She couldn’t hide the smile from her face, knowing that she and her babies were finally safe.

For now, Marathon and the puppies will stay with Alice and Jeff. After receiving the much-needed care, all of the dogs will be available for adoption.

But first, let’s see what these tiny little furballs turn into!