This heart-wrenching footage shows seven cute puppies refusing to leave their mother’s side after she was shot dead.

The footage shows the young dogs wagging their tails and nudging their mother, apparently failing to understand that she is dead. A man can be heard sobbing as he records the footage.

The incident in which the mother dog was apparently killed with a pump-action shotgun took place in the district of Altinordu in Ordu Province in northern Turkey, on Friday, 18th February.

Kemal Zafer Ozdemir, the Regional Representative of the Confederation for the Rights of Animals (HAYKONFED), had taken in the stray dog and had started to feed her and her seven puppies in a kennel set up near his house.

He even had the dogs vaccinated and given a checkup by a vet.

But one day, when he went to the kennel to feed the dogs, he saw the mother lying on the ground and covered in blood. He filmed the footage and can be heard sobbing as the seven puppies try to ‘wake up’ their mum.

He said: “I found the puppies waiting by their mother, who had been shot. I am so upset. People should have a conscience. Not everybody should be able to have a shotgun. Their mental health should be checked before they are given their licence. We don’t want such incidents to happen anymore.”

A vet was called to the scene and confirmed that the mother dog was dead. The police have also started an investigation into the incident after six pellets from the pump-action shotgun were found embedded in the dog’s body.

Kemal’s 80-year-old mother has since said: “I will take care of the puppies as if they were my grandchildren.”

No arrests had been announced at the time of writing.

The police investigation into the incident is currently ongoing.