Hero dog stays alert and stands by his human companion whenever she gets a seizure

Dogs are a man's best friend for a reason and they are even more useful when trained to detect some medical condition their human companion might have. One such dutiful pooch, Echo, is always vigilant around his human, Jamie Simpson. Simpson suffers from epilepsy and her dog is trained to detect her seizure attacks and even fetch her the EpiPen when she can not reach the cupboard by herself. Simpson continued to document her seizures and the actions of Echo throughout a series of videos and the first one was posted on her Instagram back on February 21, 2024.

In the first video, Simpson can be seen lying on the couch as Echo senses something is wrong with her. "It's quite embarrassing to post this, but I think it's good advocacy for Epilepsy," Simpson writes in the caption of her video to explain what was going on at the moment. She could feel the seizures coming and Echo even managed to fetch her a preventive medication, but it was too late. "Echo barked to alert that a big seizure was happening," Simpson recalled in the caption. "He laid on my body to prevent dislocations. During seizures, I have no idea what's happening. Echo is the reason for my safety and independence when I'm alone or in public. My seizure became a little more aggressive, but he stayed regardless and I'm proud of him."

She only posted a fraction of her video because the seizure she recorded was way longer and the entire video ended up being over three hours long. After people on the internet responded in masses to her first video, Simpson decided to put up a camera in their living room space to record any further epileptic attacks she might get and how Echo reacts to them. "A lot of people requested more seizure content, but I hope I never get it. Today, I caught Echo alerting to a POTs episode. In all honesty, almost all my conditions are related to VEDS. It makes me dizzy and sometimes even faint. The entire video of him tasking is a little over 8 minutes," she mentioned in her second video.

The third video Simpson posted was perhaps a lot more serious than anyone could anticipate, where she recorded herself entering anaphylaxis. "I'm so glad Echo chose to get an EpiPen before it got worse. I had been cleaning an old planter that must have been infested with mold, which I am allergic to. I don't always have seizures, but I do have other complications sometimes. I was trying hard to breathe in enough to cough—it almost felt better to cough when my throat started closing up," she elaborated in the caption alongside her video. Echo's ability to sense them and respond when needed makes him nothing short of a lifesaver for Simpson, per The Dodo.

"Besides the fact that I love him as a companion, I've gained so much independence from having him. My family doesn't have to worry about me as much as they used to. They always make sure I bring Echo because they know he predicts seizures in ways that they can't," Simpson told the outlet. "He's also my best friend. My life would be so different." Folks who saw her video on Instagram left encouraging comments for her and Echo. @halen_thesableshepherd wrote, "I love how he watches you so intently to decide when it's the right time to bring you the EpiPen. He's incredible and I'm so glad you have him." @bibbity_k added, "Pretty sure I could hear him saying hurry up and use this medicine! I'm so entirely in awe of how smart dogs are and their devotion knows no depth."

You can follow Jaime Simpson (@embracingecho) on Instagram for more life-saving content.