The dogs are rendered comatose by replacing their blood with a cold saline solution. In this state the dogs are considered dead as they don't breathe and have no heart or brain activity. Then, three hours later, they are revived by replacing the solution in their veins with their blood and giving them an electric shock. They come out of this, I presume, as good as...well...as good as they went into it.
During the procedure blood is replaced with saline solution at a few degrees above zero. The dogs' body temperature drops to only 7C, compared with the usual 37C, inducing a state of hypothermia before death.
Although the animals are clinically dead, their tissues and organs are perfectly preserved.
Tests show they are perfectly normal, with no brain damage.
The technique will be useful, not so much for the scifi purpose of travelling lightyears, but to save lives:
But even this should be enough to save lives such as battlefield casualties and victims of stabbings or gunshot wounds, who have suffered huge blood loss.
I can imagine this can help hospitals cope with large numbers of casualties from some catastrophic event.
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