Euthanized Dog Comes Back To Life (VIDEO)

As any pet owner can attest to, it was no easy task for Matt Olivarez to end the life of his 10-year-old family dog, Mia. But with spinal problems that left her barely able to walk, the veterinarian told Olivarez that there were no better options to ease her pain.

Olivarez watched as Mia was given two shots and declared deceased. He wrapped her in a blanket and took her home so the family could give her a burial. But the next day, Olivarez found Mia sitting in front of her food bowl, wide awake and obviously alive.

In this video from WXYZ News (via CNN), Olivarez expresses his frustration with the baffling situation: "What if I would have buried my dog alive? What if I had her cremated? She would've got burnt alive."

Now he is faced with the tough choice of if he should try to have her put down again, and witness the death of his beloved companion once more. "How do I explain to my kids I have to kill Mia twice?"

WATCH:

Comments

[iworshipthedoggod]

04:21 PM on 10/19/2010

the dog god obviously was not ready for her.

[citizenviewer]

01:12 PM on 10/19/2010

Obviously they never saw "Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell" or they would understand exactly what's happening.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_Dog:_The_Hound_of_Hell

[The Rewd]

08:54 PM on 10/18/2010

Someone is sending a strong message that this dog is to live, I do hope those involved obey it.

[Diogenis]

06:38 PM on 10/18/2010

Sad story. I recently had to put my dog Max to sleep. The vet did check for a heart beat! Max is buried in my back yard. I miss him.

[Red45]

02:38 PM on 10/18/2010

I really hope a vet can help this dog so he can stay with the family longer. It's so very sad to lose a beloved pet, I do hope they can have a few more years together.

[VeggieLove]

12:29 PM on 10/18/2010

This is very sad. I cannot imagine having to go through the ordeal twice, but most likely the family and the dog will have to due to her poor condition. Perhaps a qualified vet will offer their services.

[DawnLI]

03:24 PM on 10/17/2010

This, unfortunately, is an ongoing problem. It has more to do with dog food than anything else. Unless you are feeding your dog foods like Wellness or similar high quality foods, you will have a problem. Foods like Eukanuba, Iams, Science diet, and just about anything else you find in a grocery store is tainted with some bad stuff. One is etoxyquin. It's a preservative banned for human consumption since about 1970. The other problem has to do with rendering vats. A dog/cat put down and left for disposal goes into a rendering vat. Along with other animals that die for whatever reason, no matter what the cause. If you see "by-product," on the ingredient label it came from a rendering vat. Dogs/cats are becoming immune to drugs because of this. And those drugs would include the ones to put your friend to sleep. It's a fact folks. Studies have been done. High end foods are expensive, but worth it in the end.

[janie@atthelake]

10:56 AM on 10/18/2010

DawnLl you are spot on target! It is the food we put in our pets. After the death of two of my dogs years....a friend (vet) gave me the book "Food Pets Die for : Shocking Facts About Pet Food"
That book opened my eyes! My lab (in AV--then about 6months) now 7 eats Fromm & Primal. I spinkle alittle Wysong dental treat on his food and his teeth are wonderful! That product alone keeps him from having his teeth cleaned at a vet office and having to be put under drugs.
Fanned for your common sense!

[DawnLI]

03:48 PM on 10/18/2010

Natural bones are a great way to keep your dogs teeth clean too. Just stay away from rawhide.

[oboedad55]

03:02 PM on 10/17/2010

Not true! Ronald Reagan was declared brain dead while he was an actor, yet went on to become governor of California and president of the US.

[openminded momma]

04:39 PM on 10/16/2010

Of course an investigation is needed, but there have been humans that had issues during an execution and my sister had a cat that went into medical journals since they just could not put the cat down and it was under regular regulations.

[bebopman21]

02:15 PM on 10/16/2010

For those of you (including the family in this story) whose dog is having hip/back/leg problems and has trouble walking and may be in pain, I can testify that acupuncture is worth a try. I'm not saying that it's a miracle cure-all, but I once had a big ol' Viszla who had lost the use of his back legs and the powerful drugs that seemed to help also had very nasty side effects. So the vet recommended a women he knew who worked as a relief vet at several clinics and was trained in acupuncture. My dog stayed on the drugs for a few weeks so the acupuncture had time to kick in, but eventually, my dog was able to walk again without the use of drugs while getting weekly acupuncture sessions. (He also lost the use of his legs again after she went out of town for a week. That's how we knew the acupuncture was having an effect.) It was fantastic. He lived for about another year until respiratory problems that acupuncture couldn't treat finally took him from us. But we made sure that last year was his best ever. Now, different dogs react different to acupuncture, just like with drugs, but I believe acupuncture is worth a try.

[louisa celtics]

06:36 AM on 10/17/2010

Acupuncture helped my dog live a much longer life while being happy and not in pain:-)

[voxleo]

10:33 AM on 10/25/2010

My uncle had a Keeshound that fell from the cliff in his backyard and broke its back. My uncle, a surgeon, was skeptical about acupuncture and had thought that any benefit was purely psychosomatic, but was forced to change his opinion when the dog was able to walk after treatments also. My stepmother had a cat who also benefited from it before finally succumbing to feline leukemia - purring during the sessions with all sorts of needles protruding from her head (think of that horror movie with the "Pinhead" character...)

[HHUA]

12:28 PM on 10/16/2010

Great... now I'm questioning the potential for a similar outcome with every pet I've had to put down over the years (many as I've been rescuing animals since I was a small child). Always as a last resort as in the case of my last two cats with cancer and one 21 yr old with kidney disease. It was definitely the right thing to do, I just hope that the 'unthinkable' didn't happen as in every case I had them cremated. I would imagine if an animal "woke-up" they would notice this at the vets office or crematory and call it off (one would hope).

[SchrodingersKatz]

11:35 AM on 10/16/2010

The drugs probably came from China.

[story1]

04:55 AM on 10/16/2010

Try alternative medicine. Homeopathy for example. A growing number of vets also specialize in acupuncture. Don't give up! Results can be amazing.

[Diver992]

03:49 AM on 10/16/2010

Either an extremely tough dog or a botched procedure. Might think about using a different vet.

[Vivicca Whitsett]

10:16 PM on 10/15/2010

I do believe Mia needs to be renamed Lazarus. Can you image his reaction if Mia had woken up in the back seat of the car?