“I jumped and clapped for her. She got them all out.”

MANAUS, Brazil — For years, Edineia Florgomes has quietly cared for abandoned dogs in her neighborhood in Manaus, Brazil. Whenever frightened or hungry dogs appear nearby, she gives them food and water and, whenever possible, helps get them vaccinated. “Everyone here knows I help defenseless animals,” Florgomes told The Dodo.

Recently, one of the stray dogs Florgomes had been caring for became a mother. Searching for somewhere protected to raise her newborns, the dog dug a narrow burrow beneath a brick structure belonging to one of Florgomes’ neighbors. Inside that small underground space were seven tiny puppies, completely dependent on their mother.

For weeks, the hiding place appeared to be safe. The area had gone through roughly a month without rain, and the burrow offered the family shelter from the outside world. Then the weather suddenly changed.

Rain began pouring down while Florgomes was away at a doctor’s appointment with her daughter. By the time they returned home, water had flooded the area surrounding the burrow. Even worse, the puppies were still trapped deep inside.

The mother dog knew immediately that something was wrong. She became frantic as water poured into the low-lying space where her babies were hiding. The puppies were too far inside for Florgomes to simply reach in and pull them out.

Knowing there was little time to waste, Florgomes grabbed a shovel. She began removing water and widening the entrance, desperately trying to create enough room for a rescue. Then the puppies’ mother took over.

With Florgomes’ daughter recording the terrifying moment, the mother dog plunged into the flooded burrow. Seconds later, she emerged carrying a tiny puppy carefully in her mouth. But six more were still somewhere inside.

She went back in.

Again and again, the mother disappeared beneath the muddy water and into the narrow opening. Each time, she returned carrying another puppy to safety. One puppy became two, then three, then four — until eventually all seven puppies had been pulled from the flooded burrow alive.

Florgomes could barely contain her emotions as she realized what the mother had accomplished.

“I jumped and clapped for her,” she recalled. “She got them all out. So much happiness.”

The danger wasn’t completely over. The rescued puppies were soaked and covered in mud after their ordeal, so Florgomes immediately began cleaning them. Their exhausted mother stayed beside them, licking and caring for her babies as they recovered.

“They were all covered in mud, and the mother was cleaning them too,” Florgomes said.

Soon, the entire family was moved away from the flooded burrow and into a safer, more comfortable place. Despite how frightening the rescue had been, Florgomes said the puppies and their mother were healthy and doing well afterward.

For now, the seven puppies will remain with their mother while they continue nursing and growing stronger. Once they are old enough, Florgomes plans to search for permanent homes for each of them. She also intends to have their mother spayed.

But she won’t give the puppies to just anyone.

“I’ll only consider people who will adopt them with love, care and affection,” Florgomes said.

What began as a terrifying race against rising water ultimately became an extraordinary display of a mother’s determination. Seven tiny lives were trapped beneath a flooded structure, and their mother refused to leave a single one behind.

She dove into the darkness again and again.

And she brought every one of her babies back out.