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As Cienna walked for the first time in years, her face shone with excitement.<\/p>\n
But there was someone who seemed even more thrilled \u2014 her service dog, Piper, who literally began jumping for joy.<\/p>\n
Cienna, who asked that her last name not be used, is disabled and usually uses a wheelchair. Piper is always by Cienna\u2019s side, ready to help manage her chronic conditions. He\u2019s trained to detect and alert for low blood sugar, periodic paralysis attacks, migraines, mast cell reactions and more. He also helps with mobility assistance \u2014 such as closing doors, picking up items and hitting handicap buttons.<\/p>\n
After receiving a new treatment, Cienna eventually gained the strength to take a few steps. Though Piper is trained to keep his excitement in check, when he saw Cienna walking for the first time, he couldn\u2019t contain himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so emotional for both of us!\u201d Cienna told The Dodo.<\/p>\n
You can watch a video of Piper\u2019s reaction here:<\/p>\n
When Piper isn\u2019t working, he loves anything to do with water. He\u2019s known to jump off boats, hop in the shower, play in the hose, go after the sprinkler and even boogie board in the ocean.\n<\/p>\n
Piper has saved Cienna\u2019s life more times than she and her service dog trainer from Michigan Service Dogs LLC can count.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows how to work next to any mobility aid and is always learning ways to mitigate my ever-changing disability,\u201d Cienna said. \u201cHe makes me laugh constantly and has always been my biggest cheerleader. I wouldn\u2019t be here today without him and his lifesaving work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cienna is so appreciative to have a service dog who\u2019s there to snuggle during her hardest moments and celebrate during her biggest wins. Though Piper is happy to be with Cienna in any location or capacity, Cienna knows he must be looking forward to what this new treatment could mean for their future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know he knows it\u2019s hard for me to do things we used to love to do, like going to the beach, boogie boarding together and hiking,\u201d Cienna said. \u201cI think part of him knew that just these few steps would make those things so much more accessible to us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He was so happy for her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":81231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2869,3155,3003,3153,3152,2868,2866,3154,3156],"class_list":["post-81230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","tag-daily-dodo","tag-disabled","tag-maeve-dunigan","tag-miracle","tag-service-dog","tag-standard","tag-the-dodo","tag-walking","tag-wheelchair"],"yoast_head":"\n