Shelter dog recognized a stranger’s seizure and saved his life — then found a forever home

The dog had just arrived at the shelter and hadn't been trained to recognize seizures before the event.

PUBLISHED 14 HOURS AGO

(L) A dog standing in a garden. (R) A dog with a family. Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Vladimir Cizmar; Maria Vitkovska

Good deeds can come back to people and even furry beings in marvelous ways. A four-year-old shelter dog, Sienna, experienced that after she recognized seizures in a man during an adoption event. Her actions helped save the 46-year-old man's life, even though she hadn't been trained to recognize seizures in people. Soon enough, she ended up finding a forever home after the story of the rescue was shared widely, per Good Morning America.

A dog running towards someone. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | mraxpa

Sienna was at an adoption event in June in Virginia when a volunteer, Jackie Poppe, at Friends of Campbell County Animal Control in Rustburg, was walking around with her. She noticed that a man, Josh Davis, was having a seizure and rushed to him. "She spotted this very tall man and she made a beeline for him," Poppe recounted. Nobody knew why Sienna was so excited to see Davis. "She got all excited and she put her paw on my chest and everything. And I was like, 'Whoa.' I was like, 'What's going on?'" Davis pointed out. They had no idea about what the dog had noticed. "She would not budge. I mean, even when I pulled on her leash," Poppe added. Soon enough, Davis's wife Kristen noticed what was up.

A dog licking a man's face. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | svetikd

After Sienna refused to move, Kristen realized that her husband was having a series of small seizures and they were only visible in his eyes at that point. The man had epilepsy and had forgotten to take his medication that day, which led to the medical emergency. "It looked like something you'd see in the movies. She kept putting her paw up on his leg and like, 'Hey, are you paying attention to me? I'm trying to talk to you.' We were all kind of standing around, like, 'Did that just happen?'" Kristen explained. Sienna had arrived as a stray at the volunteer-run shelter and was probably never trained to detect seizures in people. Although more research is needed in the area, some studies have suggested that both trained and untrained dogs can detect seizures in people.

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The family would have liked to take Sienna home, but they already had three rescue animals and couldn't take on any more at that moment. But people were still able to recognize Sienna's remarkable skills because of the incident. "It was just kind of a wake-up call, basically. Now, I'm more focused on making sure I take my medications, making sure I get enough rest," Davis went on. The shelter's Facebook post explained, "Sienna knew. Before any human saw the signs, she knew. This is the kind of magic that shelter dogs carry inside them—unspoken wisdom, deep empathy and an unfailing ability to connect with us in our most vulnerable moments. Sienna wasn’t trained to do this. She simply felt it."

The story led to a lot of adoption applications for Sienna, per the outlet. Eventually, the Sweeney family ended up adopting her. The family's eldest son has epilepsy and suffers from seizures. "She is extremely laid back and she's very, very affectionate. When she leans in, you feel all 60-some pounds on her," the mom, Shannon Sweeney, shared. "Don't overlook the stray dog that's in your local shelter. All of them have amazing traits about them," Poppe expressed after people started paying attention to Sienna's story.