Moms will do everything in their power to keep their little ones safe. This is true for both us humans and animals. Animal mamas want to keep their babies safe no matter what.

Our babies wouldn’t be doing too well if moms didn’t care for them!

Since so many of us can connect with that kind of unconditional love, it warms our hearts when we see it play out in real life. The story of one little dog mom shows just how far a mom will go to be with her kids.

Karlee is a dog rescue volunteer working to find a group of puppies she had heard about.

On Jeju Island, South Korea, Karlee got word of a litter of pups hiding under a woodpile.

When locals realized that the wood scrap was going to be taken and demolished, the situation became urgent. Since the area was so large, it would take a team to find the pups in time. Arriving at the construction site, the team laid traps with food and water.
The goal was to catch the puppies and make sure they were safe and out of harm’s way. Using food and water, things that stray dogs don’t get a lot of, Karlee was finally able to tempt them from the massive woodpile and into their care. Every day she would come on her lunch break and after work to see if they could catch the pups.

After three or four days, the little ones finally came out!

They were initially really skittish but were lured to safety. Even with the first part of the “mission” completed, the team still had more to do.

Puppies of this age weren’t living alone.

Their mom was somewhere in the area, and the team had no idea how they would find her. The puppies were localized, but a mama dog could be anywhere.
In her daily search for food or resources, who knows how far the mama dog roamed? Each day the team would see if they were able to find the mom hanging around the site. Finally, after days of searching, they got their first sighting.
Despite seeing her for the first time, progress was slow on rescuing the mom.

Like many street-smart strays, the mama was extremely skittish and wouldn’t get near any humans.

Even tempted with treats and food, she refused to go near. The situation was dire, and since the island was so remote, there was no way to trap her conventionally. Finally, they tried using the only thing that was left.

Nothing, not food, shelter, or cages, was working. The only leverage that they had was the puppies. In a flash of genius, they decided to use the puppies as a lure.

Putting the puppies on the back of a truck, they started for Karlee’s house.

The mama dog chased the truck for the entire 10-minute drive back!
The mama dog chased the truck all the way back to Karlee’s home, keeping it in her sights at all times. After that, it took a few weeks before the mom felt comfortable enough to go into the house. But once she did, everything was good from there.