I t was love at first sight. I met Mae, a black labrador, in 2023 when she was 11 weeks old and she melted my heart completely. I have multiple sclerosis, postural tachycardia syndrome, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Since having her, I have been able to start living, horse riding and driving independently again.

At the time I was struggling with the physical and mental symptoms of my illnesses and needed a medical alert dog but there was a long waiting list. So I decided to train my own dog with the help of the Medical Detection Dogs charity.

Before Mae I would fall, injure myself and then wake up alone. Now Mae can tell based on my smell that a medical episode – when my heart rate drastically increases, causing me to pass out – is coming. She recognises my odour when I’m unwell and is given a treat so sees it as a fun activity. She alerts me either by giving me a very intense stare, or if I’ve missed that because my back is turned, she will escalate the alert by doing a very gentle jump up.…