Viral footage has captured the touching moment a stray mother dog raced into an overflowing river to save its puppy trapped by devastating floods in China.

The dog and its five puppies were initially left stranded after their temporary shelter was swallowed by the rising tides, reports said.

A local resident only managed to rescue the mother canine and four of the puppies as the floodwaters continued to surge

After noticing the other baby missing, the brave mother dog is seen immediately sprinting back into the swollen river to fetch the puppy.

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Viral footage has captured the touching moment a stray mother dog raced into an overflowing river to save its puppy trapped by floodwaters in China’s south-western province Sichuan

A local resident only managed to rescue the mother canine and four of the puppies as the floodwaters continued to surge. After noticing the other baby missing, the brave mother dog is seen immediately sprinting back into the swollen river as onlookers cheered and applauded

The trending clip has moved millions of Chinese web users who praised it as ‘the extraordinary power of a mother’s love’.

The incident occurred on Wednesday in Meishan city of south-western Chinese province Sichuan, according to state media People’s Daily.

The stray dog and its five puppies were left stranded in the middle of the swollen Min River after their shelter was inundated due to torrential rain.

Local residents gathered and called police after spotting the animal family struggling to return to land.

One of the onlookers swam across the floodwaters and managed to rescue the mother canine and four of its puppies.

He was then stopped from saving the last baby dog by a police officer who thought it was too dangerous for the man to return to the river.

The police officer tried to stop the stray canine but the animal ran and jumped into the floodwaters, seemingly determined to save its baby as the picture shows the dog in the river

Residents are heard cheering and clapping as they watch the pair of dog returning to land

After noticing that one of its babies was missing, the mother dog is seen turning around and sprinting back to the riverbank.

The police officer tried to stop the stray canine but the animal ran and jumped into the floodwaters, seemingly determined to save its baby.

Another clip sees the small dog eagerly swimming towards the puppy stuck between tree branches before carrying the baby back with its mouth.

Residents are heard cheering and clapping as they watch the pair safely returning to land.

All the dogs are said to have been adopted by local residents following the event, according to Chinese media.

All the dogs are said to have been adopted by local residents following the event, according to Chinese media. The picture shows the stray dog with its puppies after the incident in China

The video has quickly amassed millions of likes after being shared across Chinese social media on Thursday.

Web users have been touched by the mother dog’s brave act, praising it as ‘the power of mother’s love’.

One commenter wrote: ‘This is truly the power of a mother’s love. No matter how dangerous it is, she always wants to protect her children.’

Another one said: ‘Such a tiny body and such incredible strength!’

A third netizen replied: ‘A mother’s love is extraordinary, no matter if you are humans or animals! So much respect for the mother dog!’