There’s nothing that brings more happiness to a shelter dog than being adopted, and the 6-year-old German Shepherd Sadie can most definitely relate. Her new owner, Brian Myers, even recalls how excited she was when she finally arrived at her new forever home in New Jersey.

“She jumped up and put her paws on my shoulders and gave me a kiss on the face,” the man said to TODAY. “And it just seemed to me that she was saying, ‘Thank you for rescuing me.’

Sadie spent amount a month at the shelter, as her previous owner had to surrender her because of a housing issue.

The German Shepherd actually wasn’t the easiest-to-adopt pet, as she had a few issues and was quite wary of people sometimes. Finding a nice home for her wasn’t straightforward, but then she met Brian who was more than determined to give her a second chance and a new home. Sadie felt absolutely at ease with Brian, and these two just hit it off almost right away.

“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.

Nowadays, these two can’t imagine their lives without each other.

Sadie even has her own little space on Brian’s bed, and she even asked permission for it!

“She puts her face on the edge of the bed, looking at me, asking for permission to get on the bed. I say, ‘OK, go ahead.’ And she takes her toys with her and jumps up on the bed,” he said. “She follows me everywhere. She’s my best friend.”

Unfortunately, owner Brian had to go through a number of difficult medical challenges. He caught COVID and was practically confined to his bed.

The novel coronavirus left Brian very ill and energyless, and going on long walks every day wasn’t an option anymore. The 59-year-old man has suffered from the effects of the illness for a while and recalls how his trust four-footer Sadie was always there to support him. As soon as he started feeling better, he was more than happy to walk their four miles a day again.

Brian recovered from COVID, or at least, he thought he did.

“I thought I was out of the woods with COVID,” Brian said. “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.”

In the middle of January, Brian suffered from a stroke in his sleep. While walking to the bathroom, he collapsed onto the ground and had no control of his muscles anymore. He was completely helpless.

“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.”

Because Sadie never left his side, the man actually figured that he could use her to get a grip and pull himself up.

Sadie understood that he needed help and started pulling him.

“When I grabbed her collar, she, I don’t know, just instinctively knew to start walking backwards and pulling me. And between her pulling me and whatever strength I could muster, I was able to slide myself across the floor and get out of the corner I was trapped in,” he said. “Otherwise I may be still laying there right now.”

Thanks to the valiant efforts of his loyal four-footer, Myers was able to get help and averted a disaster. He’s currently still undergoing very thorough physical therapy and his body was affected, but he’s determined to get back home to Sadie. IN the meantime, she’s in good hands at his brother’s place.

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

What a heroic dog!

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Source: TODAY, Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge