The dog and pups are all recovering at a rescue shelter.

The discovery of a dog and her litter of 6 puppies in a northern Minnesota snowdrift has left animal shelter staff amazed at how they survived.

The dog, since named Snowbelle, was found with the puppies by a concerned family, who drove them to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue Shelter on the south shore of Lower Red Lake.

Per the shelter's Facebook post, the puppies were about three weeks old when they were rescued.

"We have no idea how Snowbelle and her puppies survived," it added.

When they were brought to the shelter all the puppies were hungry, with Snowbelle having no milk left to give them.

Fortunately, they've been able to make a good recovery.

"After a few days of warm shelter and good food Snowbelle started producing lots of milk for her babies," the shelter's post said.

"This photo shows the great need for shelter and food in our very harsh winters."