Who Was At The Door?
Her feet creaked as she descended their old rickety staircase. While their children slept soundly, she heard their steady breaths. Her goal was not to wake Glenn, as he had a rough day. Who knocked on the door?
Opening the door, she felt her heartbeat pounding. Her scream came suddenly. The stairs were a blur as Glenn raced down them. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
Love
Where most men wanted fast cars, late nights, and whirlwind romances, Glenn Maloney wanted a stable loving family. He was lucky enough to meet Viola Tiszl, the partner of his dreams.
Never had he found anyone like her before—smart, funny, and beautiful. He never understood why she chose him. He knew that she was the woman for him. But things moved faster than they had planned.
Plans
Glenn knew he would eventually settle down with Viola. Never in his life had he met someone who accepted everything he was and everything he wanted to be. He knew that one day when the time was right, he would propose.
He swore to himself that he would give her the life she dreamed of. However, before he got the chance, they were in for a big surprise.
Surprise!
When Viola told Glenn that she was pregnant, he was filled with joy. But when the initial happy surprise wore off, worry settled in. He always wanted a family but things weren’t meant to move this quickly.
Marriage, house, dog, then baby, that was his plan. But they skipped everything on his list! And as time went on, he couldn’t shake the feeling of doubt.
Lucky
Glenn’s daughter Megan, was born with a full head of hair. She was a healthy and happy child. Her happiness rubbed off on both her parents. Never had Glenn felt so much love for a human being.
He finally understood the meaning of unconditional love. But somewhere deep down, he felt that there was still something missing.
Doubts
Glenn now had a beautiful partner and a healthy child. He should have felt fulfilled, but he didn’t. And he didn’t know why until his wife Viola pointed it out.
He managed to work hard enough to buy his family a farmhouse on the outskirts of town with plenty of land for Megan to eventually run around. And when her first Christmas arrived, Viola gave him a gift he never expected.
Gift
Glenn told Viola he didn’t want anything for Christmas. All he wanted was to see his little girl open her presents. But Viola knew him better than he knew himself.
So, when he found a big box with his name on it, he was surprised. He unwrapped the cardboard box to find two big eyes staring at him. His heart stopped. What was it?
Family
The Russell terrier was smaller than Megan that Christmas. Glenn teared up, he didn’t realize how bad he wanted a dog. He named him Mugsy and watched him grow with his little girl.
Glenn finally understood what was missing from his life; a man’s best friend. Now, he felt like he had the perfect family. But he forgot how hard raising a family can be.
New Members
Over the next four years, Mugsy grew up with Megan. But it wasn’t an easy ride. There were terrible twos for starters - both from his daughter and his dog. There were toys and responsibilities everywhere.
But to come home from work to an endearing wagging tail and an excited squeal and hug always made everything worth it. However, this dynamic wouldn’t last for long.
Time
Soon, Viola was pregnant again and gave birth to a baby boy, Kevin. Their family was growing and Glenn couldn’t be happier. As time passed by, Glenn’s children learnt to love their little terrier, Mugsy and he became everyone’s little confidant.
Glenn wished he could pause life right where they were. He wanted his three babies to stay young like this forever. But he quickly realized that time would wait for no one.
Catastrophe
Megan had just turned four when Glenn’s life catapulted to a devastating halt. It was Christmas time and the family was inside preparing the house with decorations.
Megan and Kevin were sitting happily at the kitchen table building a gingerbread house, while Viola was hanging Tinsel and baubles around their home. It was a beautiful day that would soon turn into one of the worst since their family began.
Frightful Noise
Glenn was tending to the fire in their front room when he heard brakes screech outside. It was a deafening sound that gave him a huge fright as he stacked the wood in the fireplace preparing to light the fire.
He dropped the wood he was carrying in his hand with the fright and then ran to the window. He looked around for the car but what he found instead sent him into a state of despair.
Heartbreak
Glenn ran out the door towards Mugsy who was lying on the road. He dived to his knees when he reached him. Glenn couldn’t believe his eyes.
“I picked Mugsy up, but…”, Glenn said as he struggled to keep his composure. He couldn’t conceal his heartbreak. His companion wasn’t breathing. Then, he discovered that Mugsy had no heartbeat.
Protecting The Kids
Glenn cried as he carried him from the road and rushed to get their beloved lifeless animal away from his children’s sight, who were now starting to peer out the window.
He brought him into the back room and called his wife in. Viola picked up the distressed tone in Glenn's voice and told the children to continue making their gingerbread house. She rushed towards Glenn, clueless as to what had happened.
Grief
When Viola entered the room and saw her husband crying with Mugsy’s limp body in his arms, she burst into tears. Mugsy was like another child to her. She had raised them as she raised her own children.
They were absolutely heartbroken. They said their goodbyes and dug a grave in the garden. Little did he know, fate had a plan.
Goodbyes
Once they had buried Mugsy, they called their children and told them the news. Mugsy had gone to doggie heaven. They gave him a proper send-off, picked some flowers around the garden and put it on top of his grave.
They went back inside. Glenn was reflective, shocked at how sudden life can change. But life wasn’t finished surprising him yet.
Unexpected Visitor
The next morning at 3 am, Viola was woken by a constant rattling on their front door. She grabbed her son’s baseball bat and crept down the stairs. Was it a burglar?
She looked through the window but couldn’t see anyone. Fear crept into her mind. Why were nick knockers out so early in the morning? She braced herself and opened the door.
Who Was It?
Her face went pale and she screamed. Something ran past her and Viola knew exactly what it was. Hearing her scream, Glenn raced down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he saw her hunched over something. Crying inconsolably.
Was he dreaming? This is impossible. How can this be? Surely, this must be some kind of hallucination.
Miracle
It was a muddy Mugsy. “Mugsy was covered in dirt and his eyes were bloodshot,” he later explained. But his doubt subsided after he looked into the dog's eyes. He knew it was him. What was going on?
Mugsy’s tail wouldn’t stop wagging as they drove him to the vet the next morning. Turns out, Mugsy had been knocked out from the hit and run. But what about the heartbeat?
Breed
After the collision, his heartbeat had slowed to an almost undetectable pace, making it appear that he was dead. But Glenn had buried him deep. How did he manage to get out?
Russel terriers were bred to hunt foxes. The small canines could track, locate, and burrow deep to find vermin. Mugsy was born a good digger. So, when he woke up surrounded by dirt, his instincts kicked in and he dug up. Had this ever happened before?
Another Report
Funnily enough, this isn’t the first case of a dog being mistaken as deceased before. In the state of Indiana, a dog by the name of Deckard was thought to be dead.
The family reported that there was no pulse until ten minutes later when the dog seemingly came back to life. The family was equally as baffled as Viola and her husband. But is there an explanation for this?
No Reasoning
Even with all the wonders of modern medical equipment that prevents death and monitors life, mistakes can be made. Even if these happen very rarely it’s apparent from examples from both animals and humans.
Sometimes all evidence points towards an organism being dead, but for them to come back to life minutes or hours later. There aren’t many explanations for cases like this.
A Miracle
With no scientific evidence to point as to how their dog seemed deceased just to be alive hours later, Viola took it as a miracle. She didn’t need an explanation, all she needed was her Mugsy safe and sound.
She thanked God for saving her dog. He was alive when just the day before she thought he was gone and had to explain everything to her kids. But what state was he in?
Medical Experts
Now that Mugsy was safe, the vet still had to make sure he wasn’t hurt. Being hit by a car is no joke even for a 180 pound man. Animals are also lower to the ground which means the force is much closer to their bodies.
The vet had to first wash all of the mug off of Mugsy before they could examine him. But they couldn’t believe what they found.
Unbelievable
Viola sat outside the vet’s office while the faculty washed and examined Mugsy. She looked at the empty line of plastic chairs and hoped that her furry animal would be okay. After ten minutes the vet invited her back in.
Mugsy sat on the examination table with a clean coat. But the doctor was about to give her the news she’d never expect.
His Condition
Without postponing it any longer, the vet told Viola what they found. Or rather, what they hadn’t found. They confidently told her that Mugsy had no injuries at all!
They couldn’t understand how, but after being hit by a car and buried alive, he was completely fine. Viola chalked it up as yet another miracle. Now they could return home as a happy family.
Joy
Glenn was happy his family was finally back together. Although his children were young, they cried with joy when Mugsy returned.
Viola couldn’t believe their luck. Or was it more than just pure luck? The kids spoiled Mugsy with hugs and kisses. He was even treated to a new toy. But the story didn’t end there.
Viral
Word of Mugsy’s story quickly spread around the town. And eventually, papers and magazines across the country were even talking about Mugsy the dog.
It seems that people all across the world were captivated by the story of the dog who didn’t give up. Viola decided to do something so that more people could see her pup.
Internet On Fire
The internet was ablaze with people looking for more information regarding Mugsy. Many people don’t like reading or watching the news and prefer to look for their own information online. Sadly, other than news articles, there wasn’t much.
People wanted to know how Mugsy was doing, and it seemed like he had a lot of support from many netizens. Viola noticed this and decided to fix it.
Making A Page
Viola saw that the world wanted to follow Mugsy’s recovery and decided to take action. She set up a social media page dedicated to him and posted her first photo captioned, “The boy who came back to life to be with his owners.”
Viola had no idea how much of a reaction people online would have. Mugsy would be a celebrity in the making.
Viral
Now that Mugsy’s story had gone viral, his social media page erupted too. People had a connection with the dog that, by all accounts, was deceased but then miraculously came back to life.
As Viola started posting more pictures of the animal, more people seemed to appear out of thin air to give their compassion. Mugsy had no idea which celebrity would catch wind of his story.
Comments Online
Many of the comments on his social media posts were kind words of encouragement. Some people were really just happy that he was okay.
It became a new habit for Viola to scroll through them at the end of a rough day so that she could feel better about things. Her dog was like one of her children, and hearing such encouragement went a long way.
Happy To See Him Safe
“My husband and I heard about what happened to Mugsy. We’re both so happy to see him safe and sound. It’s a miracle that he made it out of that unscathed. Our prayers are with you and your family.” One poster commented.
Another said, “Mugsy is so precious! Glad to see this little guy full of life after the accident #dogsarelifesavers.”
Grabbing Someone’s Attention
Mugsy’s story had reached the hearts and minds of so many people that it was only a matter of time before the most important people started paying attention.
One woman that’s known all throughout the world would see Mugsy’s story and decide to take an interest. She was very keen to reach out to the family and maybe even do more.
One Of The Biggest Hosts In America
None other than Oprah Winfrey had seen the posts, reposts, and news articles about the dog’s harrowing story online. She immediately got in touch with her network and told them that she wanted to get more well acquainted with the dog.
She had a burning desire to get a deeper understanding of how the family felt and how Mugsy’s journey had changed their lives. That’s when Viola got the call.
A Surprising Phone Call
Viola was preparing dinner at 6 PM on a Thursday night when she heard her phone ring. She was slightly annoyed and had to wash her hands before picking up the phone.
“Hello, who is this?” She said in a slightly annoyed tone. Who called this late on a work night? But when she heard who it was, she nearly fainted from excitement.
Meeting Oprah
Viola told her husband the amazing news. They were going to talk to Oprah on her show about their experience! The family couldn’t believe that the story had picked up this much traction.
Oprah would help spread their story even further with her influence. Weeks passed, and they were finally sitting with Oprah to discuss what exactly happened that fateful day.
Natural Born Digger
“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,” Viola explained.
Oprah, an avid dog-lover herself, shared that she had to have the couple on her show after hearing about their experience. Who knew their story would travel so far?
Questions
Glenn and his family have viewed their experience as a Christmas miracle. Regardless of what the vets have said, Glenn’s still positive that Mugsy stopped breathing that night.
He believes that Mugsy just wasn’t ready to leave their family yet, which is why he managed to wake up full of life six hours after being buried! Was there more to it than the medical explanation?
Future
Mugsy has now become famous all over the world. And people are astounded by his story. Some say it was the power of love, others say it was a Christmas miracle.
Either way, Glenn, Viola, Megan, and Kevin are delighted to have their family back together. They made sure to get Mugsy some extra gifts that year!
In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.