KAMPHAENG PHET, THAILAND — A volunteer rescue crew in central Thailand got an unexpected shock this month when a stray dog they believed had died suddenly sat up in the bed of their pickup truck.
The animal had appeared lifeless when rescuers from a local welfare group found it and loaded it onto the vehicle on Oct. 4, according to Khaosod English. About five minutes into the drive back to their office, the dog stirred, then stood up, startling the crew.
A viral moment
Footage of the dog's unexpected revival, filmed by a bystander and shared on Facebook, had drawn more than four million views within a day, both Khaosod English and the Chiang Rai Times reported. The two outlets differ slightly on exactly when the dog woke — one says the truck had already stopped, the other says it was still moving — but they agree on the outcome: once alert, the dog hopped down and ran off into the surrounding area.
Rescuers told local media they had seen no sign of breathing or movement before loading the animal and had intended to take it for cremation. Veterinarians who work with Thai street-dog rescue groups say apparent deaths from shock, severe dehydration or a dangerously slowed heart rate are not unheard of in strays, though neither outlet reported a formal veterinary exam of this particular dog after it fled the scene.
Kamphaeng Phet, a farming province roughly 220 miles north of Bangkok, is home to a large population of free-roaming dogs, many of which are cared for informally by residents and temple communities. Local animal-welfare volunteers there routinely respond to reports of injured or apparently dead strays, hauling them to clinics or, when nothing can be done, for cremation.
The clip has since circulated widely on Thai social media, with many commenters joking that the dog had simply overslept. Whether it was later found and checked by animal-welfare officers was not reported.