A 4-year-old shelter dog credited with recognizing a man's seizures has been adopted, finding a forever home with Shannon Sweeney and her family.
Sweeney adopted Sienna, a Lab and pit bull mix, into her home, where her oldest son also happens to have epilepsy, a condition marked by seizures.
"She is extremely laid back, and she's very, very affectionate," Sweeney said of Sienna. "When she leans in, you feel all 60-some pounds on her."
Sienna's journey from shelter animal to hero began at a June adoption event in Virginia, where Jackie Poppe, a volunteer at Friends of Campbell County Animal Control in Rustburg, was walking her around.
According to Poppe, Sienna came to the rescue of 46-year-old Josh Davis, who was having a medical emergency, before anyone else noticed something was wrong.
"She spotted this very tall man, and she made a beeline for him," Poppe said.
Davis recalls the moment when Sienna came up to him.
"She got all excited and she put her paw on my chest and everything," said Davis. "And I was like, 'Whoa.' I was like, 'What's going on?'"
"She would not budge," Poppe added. "I mean, even when I pulled on her leash."
Davis' wife Kristen said it wasn't until Sienna came up to her husband that she realized he was experiencing a series of small seizures, just noticeable in his eyes.
Josh Davis, who has epilepsy, had forgotten to take his medication that morning, and it seemed Sienna knew it before anyone else did.
"It looked like something you'd see in the movies," said Kristen Davis. "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?'"
Sienna first arrived at Friends of Campbell County Animal Control, a volunteer-run shelter, as a stray and likely wasn't trained in detecting seizures. However, studies have found that both trained and untrained dogs may be able to detect seizures, although more research is needed.
The Davises said they would have loved to take Sienna home but they already had three rescue animals.
Nevertheless, Sienna made a mark on the family.
"It was just kind of a wake-up call, basically," Josh Davis said. 'Now, I'm more focused on making sure I take my medications, making sure I get enough rest."
Friends of Campbell County Animal Control shared Sienna's story on Facebook, writing, "This is the kind of magic that shelter dogs carry inside them … Sienna wasn't trained to do this. She simply felt it."
Her story prompted an outpouring of adoption applications before the Sweeney family, who had applied to adopt Sienna before she became the dog of the hour, was selected.
Poppe said Sienna's story goes to show that rescue dogs shouldn't be underestimated.
"Don't overlook the stray dog that's in your local shelter," said Poppe. "All of them have amazing traits about them."
