A 'dead' dog has been returned to its astonished owners after it dug its way out of a shallow grave.

Dik, 18, was given a funeral by his owners in the village of Novonikolsk, in Russia's far eastern Primorsky Krai region, after being found motionless on his blanket.

But it is understood that he woke up shortly after being buried, dug his way out of the grave, and made his way to a nearby motorway.

Dik, an 18-year-old pet dog from eastern Russia, was buried by his owner (pictured) in a pet cemetery after they found him motionless on his blanket and couldn't wake him

But soon after being buried in a shallow grave Dik dug himself out, found his way to a nearby motorway and was taken to an animal shelter by passers-by

Passers-by spotted the exhausted Dik lying by the road and took him to 'Otkroi Svoe Serdtse' (Open Your Heart) pet shelter.

Later the shelter employees posted the pictures of Dik on their social media hoping to find him a new home.

Dik's owners spotted the pictures and came to the pet shelter to take him home.

Irina Mudrova, who is head of the shelter, said: 'Dik's owners thought that he was dead after failing to wake him up.

'Fortunately, they buried him not deep underground and he managed to get to the surface after regaining consciousness.

'His owners, two elderly sisters, came to take him home and cried.

'They were very grateful and donated 5,000 rubles (£60) to our shelter.'

The shelter put pictures of Dik on social media in an attempt to find him a new home, before his owners spotted him and went to retrieve him

As word of Dik's revival spread online, commentors compared the story to Stephen King's Pet Sematary (pictured) and worried for the owner's safety

The story caused debates among netizens with some referring to 'Pet Sematary', a horror novel by Stephen King where buried pets return to life 'fundamentally wrong'.

Social media user 'Kasyanenko Anastassiya' said: 'I wonder, have Dik's owners read Pet Sematary? Are they afraid for their lives?'

And 'Kresla_125rus' said: 'I am crying because I am happy for Dik! He has such loving owners!'

While 'Venya_1603' commented: 'Once I almost buried my cat alive. I thought she died and started panicking. Luckily, she woke up before I buried her.'