A German Shepherd plays good Samaritan…….

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — A bruised and battered south Georgia woman credits a wayward German shepherd with rescuing her after her car careened down an embankment, tossing her through the rear window and leaving her sprawled, cut and bleeding, on the vehicle’s trunk.

Thirty-six-year-old Shannon Lorio said the dog, which has since been given the name “Hero,” pulled her by her collar off the trunk and dragged her about 50 yards through briars to the edge of a highway and let her lean against him so that she could stand up and flag a passing motorist.

Officials of the Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society, which runs the local animal shelter — now Hero’s temporary home — were so impressed with the victim’s account they have arranged to have Hero evaluated for search and rescue work.

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

Lorio, who still has scratches and bruises on her arms and legs, spent most of a night in the hospital, until she insisted on being released. She still walks with a limp. Cuts on her left elbow are held closed by more than 20 metal staples.

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with German Shepherds. When I was a teen a stray German Shepherd left his pack of fellow dog pals and came into our yard. We named him Sloopy. He was so gentle even our ferocious cat, Precious loved him and would curl up with him to sleep.

He was with us for a couple of years before he came down with distemper and died. This was before a vacine and there was nothing we could do but bury him on the mound, our hearts broken.

Another stray German Shepherd killed several of our cats.

When we were living at Fort Monroe, VA, a neighbor’s German Shepherd attacked our poodle, Sugar as our daughter was taking her out for a walk. It killed Sugar and broke our hearts.

Reading about this splendid German Shepherd, “Hero” brings back to mind the valiant and gentle, Sloopy, who left the pack for love of us. Shepherds are a wonderful breed of dog.