The emaciated Spanish greyhound is believed to have been dumped by hunters and was discovered wandering around a market with a broken front leg in Vera, southern Spain.
Psychologist Lianne Powell, 49, caught the stray pooch, who is thought to be between two and three years old, and took her to a local vet for treatment on Saturday.
But after noticing the pooch was producing milk and must have given birth between five and seven days previously, vet Ellen Sobry and Miss Powell began searching for any living puppies – and were amazed when the dog miraculously led the pair straight to them.
Belgian expat Miss Sobry, 39, said: "She had a broken leg, was bleeding from the back end and I saw she had milk, so I thought 'well where are the puppies?'.
"We put a collar and long lead on her and took her back to the market. Then we just followed her for about two miles – she knew where she was going.
"She led us to them, it was incredible – I couldn't believe what I saw.
NC
The injured dog led the vets to an abandoned car, miles from the market
The fact she managed to fend for herself and care for 10 pups is nothing short of astonishing!
Lianne Powell
"That dog didn't know us, we'd only met her like an hour before so it was really incredible how she decided to trust and show us where they were."
In the amazing footage the dog, which has now been named Vera after the town where she was found, can be seen leading Miss Sobry and Miss Powell to an abandoned car before leaping onto the passenger seat through an open door.
The good Samaritans then discovered ten newborn puppies huddled together on the shredded back seat of the vehicle as their mum looked out of the front window.
Dog Photographer of the Year 2016
Tue, June 28, 2016
The Kennel Club Dog Photographer of the Year competition is a competition where budding and experienced photographers submit their canine images. All of the winning images will be on display at the Kennel Club in Mayfair, London from 28th June until 12th September
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By Jamie Morgan of two Afghan hounds, which has won 1st place in the Portrait category in the Kennel Club Dog Photographer of the Year competition
Miss Powell said: "Clearly, we had a decision to make. If there were pups they would slowly starve to death unless we found them. We would need the greyhound's help but we didn't know if she would trust us enough to take us there.
"Limping and at times dragging her cast, she led us along the backstreets and main roads over the fields and along muddy tracks.
"At one point we worried she just trying to find her home but after two miles she turned up a tiny muddy track and led us under a thick hedge and into an abandoned house before crossing the yard and making her way into a car.
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The dog then climbed over some trash and limped into the car's front seat
"There in the back were 10 beautiful, fat little healthy puppies. Needless to say there were tears all round. In the state she was in the fact she managed to fend for herself and care for 10 pups is nothing short of astonishing!"
Southern Spain has become notorious for high numbers of abandoned greyhounds, known as galgos, due to mass-breeding in order to find good hunting dogs.
Miss Sobry said the winter is particularly bad for the breed as many owners are known to abandon their dogs in the off-season and buy new ones when the hunting season begins again.
But Miss Powell stressed while the issue is a problem those who breed and abandon dogs are a tiny percentage and not representative of the majority of people in Spain.
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On the back seat of the car were 10 healthy puppies, less than a week old
Vera is still recovering at Miss Sobry's surgery Clinivet Turre and the vet is working with Ibizan Hound Rescue in Murcia, Southern Spain, to find homes for the dogs when they are fit to leave the clinic.
The non-profit organisation, led by British expats Diane and Brian Hughes, 58 and 59, takes in strays and works to find them loving homes.
Miss Sobry said: "Vera and her puppies are doing fantastic and they are all healthy.
"Her broken leg was fresh but we don't really know what happened, she could have been hit by a car but she had no other wounds, maybe someone kicked her but we just don't know – it was a clean break.
MERCURY
The clinic is looking after the ten puppies and Vera is slowly recovering
"Now she is recovering great, the only thing she has to worry about now is eating, feeding her puppies and sleeping. She's a little bit timid, but she's not too scared.
"We see more strays every day, this is the end of the hunting season, it's bad at the moment.
"They have no use for them anymore, they're used for hunting and when they slow down they just throw them out."
For more information on Ibizan Hound Rescue go to ibizanhoundrescue.com
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