A DRAMATIC rescue of a family dog and her puppies under a Far North house had even the most experienced wildlife carer stumped in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Sharon McGuinness, from Mission Beach Wildlife Care, received a mayday call after a homeowner discovered a wolfhound had given birth to 12 puppies in a trench she dug 3m long and deep underground.

There were fears the new mum and her babies would be crushed without quick intervention.

"We were getting ready to go to bed when we got the call just before midnight and the owner was panicking," Ms McGuinness said.

"We don't normally do domestic rescues but we could tell how stressed they were. So we put our thinking caps on and started frantically digging under the house."

Ms McGuinness was "staggered" at how deep the trench was.

It's believed they had been trapped underground for hours before she finally pulled 10 wolfhound-staffordshire cross terrier pups to safety.

Sadly, two didn't make it.

"We're not sure if the mum has accidentally squashed two or not, but to get 10 puppies is an amazing result."

Ms McGuinness has been caring for wildlife for more than 10 years.

She is currently nursing two rainbow lorikeets, a stripy possum, four wallabies, a baby cockatoo, two Torres Stait Island pigeons, a pair of sea turtles, a rainforest turtle and a baby curlew back to health.

"We love it," she said.

Originally published as Midnight heroics save trapped dog and her puppies