No one looks forward to the day when their beloved pet dies, but when it’s unexpected and sudden that can make things even worse. When four-year-old Mugsy, a Jack Russell Terrier belonging to Glenn Maloney and his children was hit and killed by a car, he dreaded having to break the news to his children.

Maloney was home with his kids when he heard the breaks screech outside and his dog yelp. He told his children to stay inside and went outside to see what had happened. Poor Mugsy had obviously been hit by the car. He was crawling up the driveway, bloody and in bad shape. Maloney picked up the dog and hurried to the house, but it was too late. Mugsy died in his arms.

Not wanting his children to see their beloved pet in the condition he was in, he hurried to bury the dog in a corner of the yard. It would be several hours before he had the heart to tell his three and four year old children, Megan and Kevin, that Mugsy was dead.

When Maloney’s girlfriend, Viola Tiszl, arrived home, he explained to her what had happened. They sat the children down and told them the story too. The children asked to go see where Mugsy was buried. They put flowers on little Mugsy’s grave, said a prayer, and then went in to go to sleep for the night. They had no idea what the next day had in store for them.

Maloney says that Megan had asked him to make a little cross for Mugsy’s grave and he told her that he would, but the dog had other plans in store. About 5:30 the next morning, Maloney heard a scratching at the door. He got up to see what was making the noise and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There stood Mugsy on the other side of the door with his tail wagging 100 mph.

Tiszl says Maloney told her it was Mugsy and she told him he was crazy and to go back to bed. When he insisted the dog was at the door, she went and looked for herself. There he was, still waiting to come inside. She thought for sure that Maloney had buried the wrong dog and that Mugsy had finally come home. Maloney says he knows the dog he buried was Mugsy because he checked his tags before putting him in the grave.

Once daylight came, Tiszl says she went and checked the grave and sure enough, there was no dog inside of it. The veterinarian they took Mugsy to says his breathing and heartbeat were probably so slow and shallow after the accident that Maloney couldn’t detect them. After several hours resting in the grave, the little terrier decided to dig himself out; something that terriers are bred to do anyway.

Luckily for his family, Mugsy is back in business and is healthy as can be. As far as the family, they’re shocked and in disbelief, but happy to have their beloved pet back home.