We often hear the words, “I didn’t save them, they saved me”.

And among animal rescuers and adopters, this phrase resonates so much with them. But one man realized how real these words could be.

Brian Myers adopted a 6-year-old German shepherd named Sadie. Little did he know, this single event will change his life forever.

Sadie came from the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge in Oakland.

The dog, as loving as she is, was surrendered to the organization because her previous owner was moving. The property they were moving into didn’t allow specific breeds like German shepherds.

At 6 years of age and distrust towards people, Sadie became a little bit difficult to place into a forever home – until Myers came along. As a strong believer of second chances and animal adoption, he took Sadie under his care.

“I met her and within 20 minutes she was comfortable with me. And then 10 minutes later, she was jumping in the back of my car and we drove off,” he said to TODAY.

They only became closer after that.

Whenever bedtime comes, Sadie would ask Myers, politely, if she could sleep beside him. She would put her face on the edge of the bed and wait for Myers’ permission. When given the ‘go’, she rushes to get her favorite toy and jumps on the bed.

Myers considers Sadie as his best friend, and that bond only became stronger when the pandemic came. Myers caught the disease, and throughout the fight and his eventual recovery, Sadie never left his side.

He thought he was okay until COVID complications got him.

“I thought I was out of the woods with COVID,” he said to TODAY. “But apparently many people are developing blood clots after they’ve recovered from COVID. And so unbeknownst to me, I had a stroke in the middle of the night.”

One January night, Myers had a stroke. He tried to walk to the bathroom but with his weakening body, he collapsed on the floor.

Sensing her owner was in danger, Sadie ran to him.

“She immediately came down from the bed and came running over to my side and she laid down next to me and was kissing my face and letting me know that she was concerned and upset.” He said.

Then, while he was trying to comfort Sadie, he held on to her collar. This gave him the idea of using her as a counterweight so he could pull himself up.

At that moment, he swore that Sadie figured out what he was trying to do. With Myers grabbing on her collar, Sadie walked backward and pulled Myers to a safer location.

Because of Sadie, Myers got the help he needed.

He underwent intense physical therapy to recover from the stroke. And even with the rigorous rehabilitation plan, Myers fought on so he can come home to Sadie as soon as he can.

“I think when I see her, I’m going to burst into tears and hug her and kiss her,” Myers said about his hero. “My intention is now to give Sadie the best life that I possibly can going forward.”

But for Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge, both of them are heroes.

“We think Brian and Sadie are an incredible duo, and they are both heroes, essentially,” Heather Centrella, the adoptions office manager, said to TODAY. “Brian saved Sadie and Sadie saved Brian in return. It’s just amazing.”

Watch how adopting a German shepherd saved this man’s life.

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Source: YouTube – CBS New York, TODAY, Facebook – Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge