This faithful dog looks after its owner by alerting her of fainting spells and tics before she even notices they are coming. Katherine Graham, 23, has POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and cardiomyopathy, among other things, which result in her having fainting spells twice daily. Three-year-old Australian shepherd Bailey is trained to alert her to them. POTS is a condition that causes abnormally high heart rate when a patient gets up or sits down, and cardiomyopathy which makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood. Katherine has been suffering from these issues her whole life but found her guardian in Bailey almost three years ago when she adopted the puppy at eight weeks old. She trained Bailey herself and now he has learnt to identify a change in the smell that precedes a cardiac episode and is able to alert her so she can get to a safe place. The incredibly smart pooch can also fetch her medication, water, blankets and anything else that she might need during an episode. He can also hug her when she suffers from anxiety attacks and is trained in deep pressure therapy, whereby he lies on her legs to stimulate blood flow. Bailey even helped Katherine, a paralegal from Hiram, Georgia, get to the bottom of her mental health issues through his ability to notice changes in mood before her. He also helps her from disassociating by alerting her when she begins picking at her fingers or scratching at her legs. Australian shepherds are a breed renowned for their intelligence and Bailey began obedience training at nine months old, and medical alert training at two years old. Katherine said: "[He] is actually my first service dog. "I do have a Dalmatian who is just a pet. He just doesn’t have the mindset needed to be a service dog. "Bailey is extremely caring. He is so sweet and friendly but when he is working he knows he is on the clock. He is so focused on keeping me safe. "Bailey has made my life so much better. He makes me laugh and smile especially on days I feel like there’s nothing to smile about," Katherine said. She continued: "He comforts me in my darkest times. He is my rock, my stability. "In the moments I am having a medical episode, I get really stressed and scared. I suddenly lose time and have no choice in what my body does. "It is so terrifying to suddenly have your body not work, you don’t know if you’ll ever wake up again or what will happen. "I couldn’t survive without him and he helps make me strong, I am so grateful for his care and his love. "Dogs are able to pick up a change in scent. Your body will have a very slight change of smell if it is going through something. "They have a 6th sense and can tell when something is wrong."
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