Brian Myers’ life was spared by the dog he had rescued just a few months before. And their reunion after Myers was discharged from the hospital was even more dramatic than their initial encounter.
Myers rescued his 6-year-old German shepherd, Sadie, from the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge in New Jersey. Sadie was difficult to put because she was nervous around guys and defensive.
“[She was] a little standoffish when she first came and she wasn’t sure what was going on,” Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge front office manager Heather Centrella told us. “She got a little shut-down in the shelter, so we thought she’d require an experienced home with someone patient.”
Myers made the decision to bring Sadie home after only 30 minutes of meeting her.
The problems she was supposed to experience with guys vanished.
“She jumped into my car, and we became fast friends.” “I was able to work through her challenges and vowed to providing her with the home and affection she deserved,” Myers wrote on Facebook.
“She started kissing me and whimpering, so I reached up with my right hand to pet her, and then I grabbed her collar,” Myers explained to The Washington Post.
Myers had no idea that Sadie would be the one to save him months later.
Myers had a stroke when the two were having an ordinary night at home. He felt no sensation on his left side or between his bed and the wall.
“It was pretty scary – I couldn’t get up, and I didn’t realize at the time that I’d had a stroke,” Myers recalled. “My cellphone was approximately 15 feet away on the dresser, but I couldn’t get to it.”
Sadie leapt into action, licking her father’s face in an attempt to revive him.
The dog would not leave his side.
She continued to bark for aid, hoping that the neighbors would hear her. Myers reached for her collar and was taken aback by what happened next.
Sadie then dragged her father across the room so that he could be closer to his phone.
“She wasn’t trained as a service dog, but she was distressed about what was going on and she could tell I was in difficulty,” he explained. “I’m not sure how she did it, but she was aware.”
Myers was able to get his phone and dial 911 for assistance. Doctors at the hospital told Myers that Sadie had very likely saved his life.
Sadie stayed with Myer’s family while her father was hospitalized and later in rehab.
“They use FaceTime, which he says she’s confused about because she wants to talk to her dad and she cries,” Centrella explained. “However, he promises her that he is doing everything he can to return to her as soon as possible so they can be reunited.”
When that day eventually came, it was a very happy one.
Myers sobbed as Sadie leapt into his arms and kissed him on the cheek.
“Adopting her was the best move I’d ever made,” Myers said. “I truly believe it was meant to be.”
In the video above, you can see Sadie and her father reunited.