A tiny puppy named Beyonce, not much bigger than a business card, has defied odds by surviving.  At a day old, Beyonce could fit in a tablespoon. Now, at a little more than 2 weeks old, she is almost as big as an iPhone.

Beyonce's mother, Casey, a dachshund mix, was abandoned by her owners and living on the streets of San Bernardino, Calif., when she was picked up by Devore Animal Control.

The pregnant Casey was then scheduled to be spayed and have her puppies aborted, as happens with many stray pregnant dogs, when a veterinarian determined she was too far along to end the pregnancy.

Casey was scheduled for euthanasia - with her pups  inside her - when the Grace Foundation in Northern California came to the rescue.

"They call us when there is absolutely no other alternative, when these dogs are on death row," Jeanne Warr, the Grace Foundation's director of operations,  told ABCNews.com.

An ultrasound showed that Casey was carrying five puppies, one of which was "abnormally small," said Warr."At that point, they didn't even know if she was going to be stillborn or a viable puppy,"

On March 8, Casey delivered all her puppies, and  Beyonce came out last.

"She was not breathing. Her heart was not pumping," Warr said. "Dr. Michael Russell did some little chest compressions on her and Beth DeCaprio [the Grace Foundation's executive director], gave her mouth-to-mouth … and she made it."

The foundation reports that Beyonce is "thriving and normal in every way," despite her shaky start.

In about six weeks, Beyonce, the four other pups and  mom Casey will  all be up for adoption. The foundation has already alerted the Guinness World Records that it might have the world's tiniest dog on its hands.

"It's a remarkable story. You don't expect dogs to survive with that many chances of death," Warr said. "She is just a remarkable little survivor."

(Image credit: Lisa Van Dyke/El Dorado DOG Photography)