PARIS — A Jack Russell terrier has survived
after being poisoned and buried alive - and he can thank the man
who saw the ground wiggle.
Ethan came back to life on his third birthday after someone
tried to kill him. He had a whole chain of saviors: the man who dug
him up, the firefighters who rushed him off and a veterinarian who
nursed him back to life.
Sabrina Zamora, president of an animal association in
Charleville-Mezieres, 200 kilometers (125 miles) northeast of
Paris, said Friday the little white dog with a black ear was "flat
as a pancake" when he was dug up from his grave Tuesday near a
lakeside pedestrian path.
A Jack Russell terrier, Ethan, is pictured at his
new home in Charleville Mezieres, eastern France, Friday, Oct. 19,
2012. Ethan, doomed to die on his third birthday when he was
poisoned and buried alive, has survived on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012.
Ethan can thank a witness, a firefighter who came to the rescue and
a veterinarian who nursed him back to life
It's extraordinary. We only see this in TV movies," said
veterinarian Philippe Michon. "He came back to life and without a
scratch. It's rather miraculous."
The vet said when firemen brought the dirt-covered terrier to
his office "he was completely cold, he was barely breathing."
Michon used hot water bottles to warm up Ethan's seemingly
lifeless body. The dog was so cold his veins had collapsed and it
was hard to find one to hydrate him but within 24 hours the dog was
back on his feet..
According to the veterinarian and Zamora, a man walking by just
happened to see the ground moving - an apparent result of
convulsions from the dog's poisoning. The man then got a shovel and
dug the dog up.
Ethan was identified through a microchip that showed all this
happened on his third birthday.
His owner says he had given the dog away but police are
investigating, Zamora said.
"(Ethan) had an unbelievable chain of luck," Michon said. "If
the ground hadn't trembled, no one would have taken a shovel to
it."