A dog refused to die after being put down and buried by his owners, when he somehow managed to dig himself out of his grave and walk to the roadside to seek help.

The seven-year-old German shepherd named Kiryusha was spotted by Olga Lystseva while she was driving along a highway in northern Russia.

She saw the poor pooch walking slowly on that rainy day, drenched and exhausted – an image that haunted her, leading to her decision to turn her car around and drive back nine miles to get him.

Lystseva looked for some food for him then put him on the back seat, where Kiryusha slept while she drove 93 miles to a town called Ukhta.

Kiryusha was handed over to a dog rescue service called Kind City, and his picture has been published in an attempt to find his owners.

The rescue service received messages after posting about Kiryusha, wherein they were told that he came from a settlement of Yemva.

They were soon able to contact his owners, who “apologized for their mistake” for burying him alive and claimed that the dog was unhealthy and they had to put him down.

The owners confessed that they injected Kiryusha with a drug that is supposed to kill him, and then buried him at a spot near Ukhta-Syktyvkar highway.

The owner’s story seemed accurate at first, as they spotted a shaved part in Kiryusha’s paw where they supposedly injected him with a lethal dose.

However, tests performed by the veterinarian confirmed that Kiryusha had no serious health problems, apart from him suffering from hunger and exposure.

“Thanks to Olga, Kiryusha has begun a new life,” said Ekaterina Nimak from the animal shelter.

“In the shelter, he is very calm. He walks on a leash, does not rush anywhere, rarely conflicts with other dogs and does not bark,” she added.

“He is good-natured with people.”

Kiryusha is currently being fostered by a local loving family, with the hopes of finding his forever home.