Earlier this week, while tending to animals on a remote Turkish farm, veterinarian Soner Büyümez heard a sound that stopped him in his tracks — a haunting cry that signaled distress.

“I rushed toward the noise without hesitation,” Büyümez told The Dodo. “A landslide had occurred. I found a dog partially buried — only her head was visible above the dirt.”

The scene was dire. The dog was clearly in distress, but as Büyümez would soon discover, her concern wasn’t just for herself.

“It was heartbreaking to see,” he recalled.

Without wasting time, Büyümez grabbed a shovel and began digging to free the trapped dog. As he worked to clear the soil, another faint noise emerged — the unmistakable whimpers of puppies coming from beneath the surface.

“I realized there were puppies buried under the earth,” he said.

After successfully freeing the mother, Büyümez continued digging to rescue her hidden litter. One by one, he unearthed seven tiny puppies who had been trapped when their underground den collapsed — all under the watchful and anxious gaze of their mother.

Thanks to Büyümez’s swift response and determination, the entire canine family survived the ordeal unharmed.

The veterinarian suspects the mother is a stray who had made a den in the secluded area to raise her pups. Fortunately, her days of struggling alone are now over.

“The mother and her puppies are doing well,” Büyümez said. “I’ll take care of them like they’re my own.”