Meet Samy Moras: The black belt dog rescuer who’s kicking butt and saving tails

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — On the inside, Samy Moras has a heart of gold, but on the outside, she’s got a roundhouse kick you definitely don’t want to be on the wrong side of.

You may have heard the phrase “You kick like a girl.” Well, if you’re lucky, you kick like Samy.

It was a college party gone wrong that really put Samy’s skills to the test. A guy had tried to pull her into the bathroom despite her telling him no. It was a lesson that he was about to learn was a big mistake.

“I had to take my right leg and round-house kicked him in the stomach,” Samy said. “He went down. I walked out of the bathroom and said, ‘I’m done. I’m outta here.'”
That’s what happens when you mess with a black belt.

Samy’s been practicing taekwondo since she was a kid, though she admits she didn’t exactly start off as a prodigy. She told ABC4 that she wasn’t very good at first but over time, she got very good – good enough to represent Team USA in competitions all over the globe including Australia, South Korea, China, Israel, and more.

These days, however, Samy has traded in global competition for community impact. She currently runs two taekwondo studios with her sisters, helping shape the next generation of fighters. But that’s only what she does by night.

By day, Samy is saving dogs – and lots of them – through her foster-based organization, Artic Rescue.

“I was the kid that would see dogs on the street and be like, ‘I have to find you a home,'” She told ABC4.

Today, she is helping hundreds of dogs, specifically huskies, find their forever homes. She said that due to their howling vocals, intense shedding, and super high energy, huskies are a serious commitment and it can be hard to find them a home. But it’s one that Samy says she and her team are ready for.

“I’m always covered in dog hair [and] if you don’t exercise them, they will destroy your house,” she said. “[But] we’ll get 10 messages a day asking, ‘Can you take this dog?’ A lot of them are on euthanasia lists – we’re often their last chance.”

Once a dog is accepted into Artic Rescue, it is placed into a loving foster home. The foster family then helps train the dog while Samy’s rescue provides everything from food, to crates, and supplies.

“Then we go through adoption applications to help people find their perfect match,” Samy said.

At home, Samy’s pack includes her own dogs, Leo and Graham, as well as her young son, Jet. And helping her manage it all? Her husband, who’s been pulled into the mission more than once.

“She’s gotten me to go rescue a dog in the middle of the night,” he says with a smile. “She’s rubbed off on me that way.”

Though he jokes that he is not a dog lover and only one by association he is crystal clear on one thing: “Oh, she’s incredible.”

Whether she’s throwing kicks or saving lives, Samy Moras proves that strength and kindness go hand in paw. 

If you’re interested in adopting or volunteering with Arctic Rescue, click here.