Dog back to life before buried
There was just only thing left to say - Scamp was dead.
The terrier-Shih Tzu puppy had been hit by a car and apparently so badly injured that he had died on the road.His owner Paul McKinlay wrapped him a blanket and put him under a wheelbarrow to keep other animals away until they could arrange a proper burial in the back garden.
He and wife Rita then sat down with her grandchildren and told them their beloved pet had gone to heaven.
Until the next day, when Scamp woke up.
They rushed the eight-month-old to the vet and after spending $3,000 on checks to make sure he was OK, they have now brought him home.
Mrs McKinlay said she has told her grandchildren that Scamp is in fact still alive and that his Lazarus-like return from the grave is a special Christmas present for them all.
She claimed that it was the freezing conditions outside their home in Yelm, Washington, which could have caused his body to slow down and keep him alive.
Mr McKinlay said that Scamp escaped when he 'wasn't paying attention'.
He said: 'The next thing I heard a car. I figured he was gone, I figured he had passed away'.
The next morning Scamp was up and fine, despite the fact his eyes had been fixed and he wasn't breathing and he was covered in blood. Tests showed he's okay, and he's back with the family
He went outside, wrapped him in a blanket and brought him indoors.
When her husband rushed in the next day to tell her Scamp was alive, she shouted: 'Oh my gosh'.
She added that the freezing temperatures may have been the reason why the dog survived.
She said: 'It could have slowed down his body functions and made his brain work slow, that's what the vet said, that's what saved his life.
'Christmas is about kids, about miracles, as long as family are together and Scamp is part of our family.'
