'Jesus' Hamster Comes Back From Dead on Good Friday

It sounds like a scene straight out of "Pet Sematary," but this was no movie. A British couple was shocked when the pet hamster they buried after presuming it was dead, was resurrected from the grave, and came back to life on Good Friday.

Lisa Kilbourne-Smith and her boyfriend James Davis of the U.K. were pet-sitting a hamster named Tink for some friends recently. Everything was going fine until they discovered the animal had died inside her cage. Assuming she was dead, Kilbourne-Smith and Davis covered her in cloth to keep her away from their cat, and dug a 1-foot-deep resting place for her in the flower bed of their home.

The couple then called their friends to inform them of the unfortunate news of two-and-a-half-year-old Tink's passing. The mourning would be short-lived, though. Davis phoned his friend again the next day, Good Friday, to let them know the hamster had come back to life.

After being buried, Tink gnawed her way out of her funerary wrapping, dug out of her grave, and sought shelter in an empty cat food box as temperatures dropped below zero for the night. Kilbourne-Smith's father Les found the frightened creature the next afternoon. When he came outside to take out the recycling, Tink's tiny head emerged from the cardboard box.

"It's amazing that she survived," said Les.

"The energy she had to dig herself out of that hole, then get along the wall and climb up into that recycling box was remarkable, really," Les said.

Tink's owners have given her the nickname "Jesus" following the bizarre incident.

Veterinary experts said Tink's "resurrection" actually is not unheard of; they believe the hamster was merely hibernating, and probably just appeared to be dead.

"This isn't the first instance of a hamster coming back from the dead that I've come across," Veterinarian John Auld said.

"If its body temperature drops below a certain level the animal can go into hibernation. It has been known for owners to mistakenly believe that their pets have died when in fact they are only sleeping."

Regardless, Auld admits Tink's survival is impressive considering the harsh weather conditions she was able to survive outside.

No word yet if Tink's also begun healing the lame and the blind.