Shannon Lorio, 36, pets Hero the German Shepherd she credits with saving her life.
Shannon Lorio of Thomasville, GA was in trouble. Her car had careened down an embankment where she was thrown from the front seat out to the trunk of her car. Her legs were hanging over the back seat. "I was bleeding from my face and my nose. All of a sudden, I felt a presence – a really huge presence," Lorio remembers. "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 German Shepherd just licked her face. According to Lorio, her hero "pulled her from the trunk by her collar and dragged her 50 yards through briars to the edge of a highway." She was then able to lean against the dog and flag a passing motorist.
It seems that 2-year-old "Hero" had previously been taken to the Humane Society by his former owners because he was always running off. Although the dog has a special place in Lorio's heart, she is unable to adopt him because she already has six dogs and five children.
Because of the publicity, more than 50 people have offered to take the roaming dog, but Hero will go to live with Hiedy Drawdy, a veteran dog trainer. She feels that Hero would make an excellent search and rescue dog. Once Hero moves in with Drawdy, he will begin obedience training and socialization with children, seniors and other dogs. He will also be exposed to noise and emergency vehicles to see if he qualifies for advance training. Drawdy says that the German Shepherd is showing signs of having natural talent. "We'd like to see if we can give him a job because obviously he's meant for something special."