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Sorsha's story is one that went from horrific to heroic. As Melissa Amos tells ICanHasCheezburger, as a tiny puppy, Sorsha had lived weith dozens of other dogs in the house of an animal hoarder. "When local authorities decided to seize all the dogs from the lady, she went crazy and tried to shoot all the dogs so they couldn't be taken away from her," says Melissa. "Sorsha had actually been shot in the mouth, but survived with only a fear of really loud noises to show for it."
You can see the scar from the bullet in the picture.
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From there on, thankfully, life improved for Willow- later named Sorsha after a redheaded warrior woman from the 1988 movie Willow. The at the time 10-week-old pooch was rescued from Wright-Way Rescue Shelter in Murphysboro, IL and found her way into Melissa's home - an incredible forever home filled with not only loving owners but loving animal friends as well.
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"Sorsha has never met an animal she didn't like," says Melissa. "I am self employed as a pet sitter and Sorsha has lots of furry friends that visit for days at a time. During the first lockdown of Covid-19 I fostered several dogs for Wright Way and Sorsha and Indie helped me teach them how to dog."
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Even when choosing Sorsha at the shelter, Melissa immediately knew how special she was. "My husband helped me pick Sorsha out of several dozen puppies at the rescue. We were specifically looking for a calmer dog, one that wouldn't amp up my anxiety and help me relax more when I was at home. Sorsha out of all of the puppies was just sitting, minding her own business and not going crazy trying to get attention when we came to see the puppies and we instantly knew she would be the right one. I applied to adopt her the next day, as they hadn't officially listed her for adoption yet."
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"Sorsha bonded with me almost instantly when I brought her home. She refused to sleep unless she was physically touching me. I have anxiety, PTSD, depression, and agoraphobia," continues Melissa. "Sorsha picked up on this as a puppy and would try to cuddle and comfort me when I was scared or upset. My husband and I trained her ourselves, him having grown up with dogs and just understanding them naturally, me with my schooling in zoology and animal behavior in particular."
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Once officially trained as a service dog, Melissa - thankfully - started taking Sorsha everywhere with her. "She helps keep me calm just by being close, but also helps calm me down when I do get upset. I never trained her on how to help me, she has always just done it. The training was more obedience training and proper behavior in public."
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"It was right at the beginning of my last semester in 2018 when she saved my life," Melissa tells her amazing story. "I was walking across a parking lot after class back to my car when I slipped on a patch of ice. A car was coming towards me and slipped on the ice and was unable to stop."
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"I was unable to get up quickly. I'd had the breath knocked out of me when I fell and had had back surgery to remove the herniations in two disks in my lower back just the previous summer and was still in physical therapy recovering," she explains. "Sorsha grabbed the leash in her mouth and physically dragged me out of the path of the car and then stood over me licking my face while people came over to make sure I was okay and help me up again. She never left my side or tried to run away and I certainly never taught her to pull me ever."
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We can only be grateful that Sorsha did what she did, and of course, ask her mom to give Sorsha many treats and kisses forever, though we have no doubt that she will. "[Sorsha] loves making new friends and helping me with puppies," finishes Melissa. "The moment the vest goes on, she's no nonsense 'got to help mom'." And we're totally in love with her.
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