As the founder of Logan’s ɩeɡасу 29, Suzette Hall is usually the first person Los Angeles County, California residents call when they find a dog in need. Hall is used to rescuing dogs in a variety of situations, but a call she received recently made her heart sink.

A local resident reported finding a small blonde dog curled up in a stranger’s yard. As she got closer, she realized she was protecting a secret litter of puppies.

“They were literally newborns this morning,” Hall wrote on Facebook.

image Hall and her volunteers rushed to the scene, where they found the mom dog, who they later named Carol, curled up around her babies. The team carefully approached Carol, showering her with words of affirmation, but the frightened mom dog fled as soon as they got close.

“When we first arrived, mom was safe with them, but she escaped and ran off,” Hall wrote. “She wanted to get back to her pups, but she was so scared.”

image The team recognized the pups and came up with a plan to catch the protective mother.

“…I brought her back into the garden and we were able to close the gate,” Hall wrote. “She was so protective of her pups that she wouldn’t let anyone catch her.”

Hall decided to set a humane dog trap with tempting food. Moments later, the hungry mother dog walked into the trap, and the gate slammed shut behind her.

image Carol instantly panicked, not knowing where her babies were. But Hall’s team quickly reunited with the little family, easing Carol’s anxiety.

“We quickly reunited her pups with her, and she just snuggled up to them,” Hall wrote. “She just wanted her little family, which she had in a strange garden, all alone. It made us all cry.”

image Hall took Carol and her six pups to Camino Pet hoѕріtаɩ, where the entire family was eventually approved for foster care. As soon as they arrived at their new foster home, Carol’s attitude changed.

“When I brought her to her foster home, she knew she was safe. She let me love her and help her learn to nurse,” Hall wrote. “And then, she just snuggled with her pups because she knew she was rescued and didn’t have to go through [anymore] alone.”

image It’s been a few days since Carol and her babies were rescued, and the little family is thriving. It will be a while before Carol and her babies — Greg, Peter, Bobby, Marcia, Jan, and Cindy, named after the beloved TV family, The Brady Bunch — find permanent homes. But for now, she’s doing better than ever, and Hall couldn’t be happier for them.

“Momma was so scared, but now she’s just a perfect sweetheart,” Hall told The Dodo. “They are all small miracles.”