[Jennifer_SFBA]

I love animal stories like this one. It warms the heart.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16952774/?GT1=9033



THOMASVILLE, Ga. - A south Georgia woman bloodied in a car wreck says she owes her life to a German shepherd who — thankfully — just wouldn’t stay in his yard.

Shannon Lorio says that after her car careened down an embankment, the wayward dog found her bruised and battered on the vehicle’s trunk, pulled her by her shirt collar, dragged her about 50 yards through briars to a highway and let her lean against him so she could flag a passing motorist.

His new name: Hero.

“That dog is always going to have a special place in my heart,” Lorio said Friday. “He’s my hero.”

Hero’s previous owners have signed him over to the Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society since the Jan. 26 accident because he kept wandering off.

He won’t be in the shelter long: Not only have at least 50 people offered to adopt him, a dog trainer has agreed to see if he has the right stuff for search and rescue work.

Lorio’s car tumbled backward down an embankment in a remote, heavily wooded area. She said she lost control on a curve and was thrown onto the trunk.

“I was bleeding from my face and my nose,” she said. “All of a sudden, I felt a presence — a really huge presence. He was straddling me. I have watched too many horror movies about werewolves and vampires. I thought he was going to eat me.”

Instead, the dog licked her face, she said.

The 2-year-old dog, weighing 70 pounds, dragged the 136-pound Lorio to the highway, then stood by to help her summon help before she collapsed, she said.

Lorio, 36, of Pavo, said she can’t adopt Hero because she already has six dogs, but she’s showered him with gifts including a huge bone and a stuffed animal.

“If he ever needs anything, I’ll be there,” she said.

Dog trainer Heidy Drawdy, of Thomasville, will take Hero next week to see if he’s cut out to be a search and rescue dog.

First item on the agenda for the wandering canine: obedience training.

[Mr. Anderson]

I love this story. Thank you Jennifer_SFBA! As a person who had a Yellow Labrador Retriever save my life, I am eternally grateful to the canines who guardian our planet.

[Jennifer_SFBA]

WOW! Mr. Anderson, would you please tell us your story? Please?

[Lionhearted]

Great story Jennifer, reminds me of one those Dog of the Year (a contest sponsored by Ken-L-Ration I believe) stories I used to love to read, thanks for sharing it.

Mr. A. I agree with Jennifer, do tell please.

[Mr. Anderson]

How Barney, My Yellow Lab, Saved My Life

I was up north on vacation visiting people who had a camp in the Adirondack Mountains. Barney was my large-sized Yellow Labrador Retriever. (You know, those ones with the big boxy heads.) I had him from the time he was a puppy. He was freaking out because he wanted to go for a walk. He had gotten his leash and brought it to me several times when I was on the phone. So, I said, "Okay, boy, this'll be a short one, but let's get in the car." Barney was off and running to the door. Now, I have to briefly pause and say Barney was a very special dog. He had a higher IQ and a better understanding of the English language than I did. He was also a real character with a sense of humor. He would hide just one of my shoes. We would actually take turns playing play hide and seek. And he tried to have sex with my 75 year old cleaning lady. He tackled her around the waist and wouldn't let go. That's another story.

It was 4:30 pm and I figured we had at least a couple of hours to hike and get back to camp. So we started off. I was having a good time and not paying attention to the time. Then I noticed it was starting to get darker much faster than I thought. The dense woods and high mountains have a way of doing that. So, I said to Barny, we better turn around and head back to the car.

Then the sun set fast. Barney and I were in total darkness with no flashlight, no matches or lighter, no moonlight. I crept along straining to figure out which way to go. Nothing seemed familiar because I couldn't see a blessed thing in front of me. Somehow I had managed to direct us completely off any semblance of a trail. We were stumbling through the dark, through brush and dense trees. I took a fall over a log and banged up my leg pretty bad and twisted my ankle. I sat there. Thank God, Barney was by my side.

Then the sounds of wild animals came alive. I heard screeches and growls and cries. My fear level went to red alert. I sat there remembering the story my friends has just told me about 2 people who were lost in the mountains for a couple days and their bodies were found all chewed up by animals that snacked on them. I was scared. And now my ankle was sore and I didn't have a clue what to do. Should I sleep in the woods without fire and try to find my way out in the morning? Was it better to keep moving? But, which way? I tried just going downhill, but that just got us more lost and the terrain started to go up again. I was clueless.

I asked my higher guide for help. I sat quietly and tried to get calm. I didn't want to act scared because I didn't want to upset Barney. But, he seemed fine and on high sensory alert. Then the words just came out of my mouth, "Barney, where's the car? Take me to the car. Find the car, boy."

Now Barney was always pretty much a spoiled suburban dog with a nice, comfy lifestyle. He was a lab, but was a lousy swimmer. He had little experience with the wilderness, just like me, his idiot owner who had gotten us into this predicament. But, I had no other option. I placed my life in Barney's paws.

I ripped up my teeshirt and wrapped it around my ankle for support. I stood up and let him take the lead. And he led. He knew I was hurt and so he took it easy and slow. He stopped often and let me rest by a tree. A few times he stopped, sniffed the air and froze when he heard something ahead. Then he let out a deep, long growl that I had never heard him make before. The growl sounded like the jaws of hell had opened up. That scared the bejeesus out of me. What was he growling at? What the hell was out there in the dark? Damn. One time he stood there for a long time with on and off extremely intense growling before he would let us move ahead. His hair stood up and I prayed he wouldn't have to fight ... a bear? A mountain lion? A bobcat? He'd never survive that. Would I? Whatever he was growling at got scared away and left us alone. We moved on and I had no idea what-so-ever if we were going the right way for 2 1/2 hrs. Then all of a sudden I saw the open space of the parking lot ahead. And there was our car.

Damn, I loved that dog. I lost him a couple of years ago to old age. He was one in a million and my best friend.

[Jennifer_SFBA]

Oh, Mr. Anderson, I LOVED reading your story! Thank you soooo much for sharing it.

[Lionhearted]

Stories like that and the one Jennifer posted make an old cynic feel like there may still be a heart in there, somewhere.

Thanks for sharing, Mr. A.

[Jennifer_SFBA]

Being a Leo, Lionhearted, is alot about heart, family and home. We do live in some mighty disheartening days, but what better is there to do than to put one's best foot forward and be who we are inside and not succumb to that, regardless of what else is going on around us in the world?