A woman invested $20,000 to build a charity she runs from her home - and has now saved more than 200 puppies.

Kathryn Mongrain, 29, an emergency vet technician, started her charity The Bottle Brigade because she wanted to save newborn puppies from euthanasia.

She bought IV pumps, four incubators, built oxygen chambers and set up a newborn "puppy hospital" in her dining room.

Kathryn, who lives in Katy, Texas, USA, said: "I wanted to create something to help them. I wanted to help care for them until they can be adopted.

"I set up a nursery in my house. I put all the incubators in my dining room.

"That way I didn't have to pay for all the care myself. I can do this because I have a veterinary license."

Kathryn takes in puppies that would have been euthanised because of either genetic abnormalities, premature birth or health issues.

Kathryn cares for them, nurses them back to health and then sends them to fostering services to find a new home.

The Bottle Brigade receives donations including food, supplies and $500 a month in cash.

The puppies' treatments are expensive and Kathryn covers most of the cost.

In September, she took in two puppies named Artie and Sal and Kathryn had to cover their $5,000 in vet bills.

The pooches are most often surrendered by breeders because they wouldn't be able to sell them due to abnormalities or have medical issues.

Kathryn said: "I used to get most of them from the clinic but now I get a call at least once a week from a breeder. They come straight to me."

Kathryn is dedicating most of her time to the pups as the most vulnerable need to be fed every two hours day and night.

She only works nights as a emergency vet technician and even has to take the puppies to work with her.

According to Kathryn, feeding and caring for the puppies takes about 20 minutes, so she only sleeps an hour and 40 minutes at a time.

She said: "Ninety percent of my day is spent looking after puppies. It's very hard to work, have a personal life and care for the puppies.

"I work from 5pm to 5am, get home, put them back into the incubator, sleep for about two hours, feed them, stimulate them, sleep for two hours and repeat.

"I do that until 1pm, get coffee between feedings and then get ready for work.

"If I ever do anything, it's between those two hours. If they aren't fed on time they get weak and start to fail.

"They need you all the time."

Kathryn is only able to care for four puppies at a time due to her limited resources and they have a high mortality rate.

This means that she is only able to rescue two to three puppies per month but she also distributes them to other charities.

Kathryn said: "We aren't always able to take them in but we always find them a place. I will not let them get euthanised, ever."