One of the saddest things anyone has to go through is losing a beloved pet. Especially when they are taken from us too soon, which is what happened to Mugsy when he was hit by a car. Glenn Maloney and his family were devastated to lose their dog – or so they had thought.

It’s been shown that the death of a pet is just as painful as the loss of a family member or friend – there’s even been research to prove it.

Even though our pets can’t talk, our cats and dogs (and, of course, so many other animals!) are like our babies in a way. We talk to them, we care for them, we feed them, and we love on them. They’re our companions and our friends. They love us without condition and they’re loyal to the end.

For Glenn Maloney, he and his children, Megan and Kevin, were grieving the loss of their dog. Mugsy had been hit by a car outside Glenn’s girlfriend’s house in Severna Park, MD while she was watching the kids.

Glenn rushed home after the accident but it was too late.

“I picked Mugsy up,” he told PEOPLE,” but he died in my arms.”

Glenn checked all of 4-year-old Mugsy’s vital signs but found no pulse or any breathing. Glenn was certain that Mugsy was gone. Not wanting his young kids to see their deceased dog, Glenn hurried to bury the dog in the backyard.

“I was really upset. So I buried him quick and I didn’t even tell the children,” Maloney told Oprah. “I didn’t have the nerve to tell the children, until like seven o’clock that night. Mugsy was dead.”

After working up the nerve to finally tell his kids, they all went out to the backyard to have a final farewell. The devastated family said a prayer and did a ceremony for Mugsy at his gravesite that evening. Soon after, Glenn and his family went to bed for the night.

Strangely, at 5:30 am the next morning, Glenn heard a scratching at the front door.

Cautiously opening the door, Glenn was completely shocked to see Mugsy’s looking up at him, wagging his tail with excitement. Glenn and his girlfriend, Viola, were in such disbelief that she thought they must have buried a different dog! There was no way that this could possibly be the dog with no heartbeat who Glenn buried the previous day.

Upon closer inspection, however, Glenn and Viola confirmed that it was certainly Mugsy that had shown up that morning.

“Mugsy was covered with dirt and his eyes were bloodshot,” said Viola.

“Jack Russells are bred to burrow after foxes. I guess when he woke up in that hole, he just thought it was another old hole and he dug his way out, not knowing it was supposed to be his grave.”

Glenn immediately took Mugsy to the vet and asked them how he could have been so certain the dog was dead, and to, of course, check on the condition of his health.

“The vet said that probably after six hours, he actually dug his way out,” Viola told Oprah. “His heart rate and everything was so slow that it was not obvious that he was alive. He had no vital signs.”

Needless to say, it was almost more shocking to explain this to his children than anything else! Watch the fascinating interview with Oprah in the video below.

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Source: Newsner