May and Winnie

Before PoTS May was an independent person, used to living alone. But all this changed as she found her life increasingly limited by the condition. “I could faint without much warning, especially when standing up. I always had to have someone with me for support,” says May.

Wanting to regain control over her life, May bought a puppy, in the hope that she could become an assistance dog. She chose Winnie, a Bernese Mountain dog cross Standard Poodle. “I knew it would rely on her temperament and attitude to work and was very pleased that she was easy to train and wanted to engage in sessions.”

May continues, “I approached Medical Detection Dogs to help me with alerting accuracy in training and to get a wider network of people who could help me, as well as to meet other people dealing with similar conditions."

"I specifically wanted help to train Winnie to walk beside a wheelchair. The MDD experience with training was great. I felt so supported. The training was an exciting process.”

May, who is at university, credits Winnie, who is now 3 years old, with being very keen to work. “She loves being with me and is very adaptable. While being both funny and goofy, she always wants to come and explore the world with me when we go out and she loves training sessions.”

Winnie, a much loved dog, helps May live her life with far fewer restrictions. “With Winnie I can go out and meet people, or attend university or work, free from the worry that I will faint without warning. She will give me a 5 minute alert, which lets me either head off an episode or take action to mitigate its severity.”

May advises anyone who may be thinking of approaching MDD for help to definitely do so. She says “The support I have had from my dog is literally life changing and the charity makes me feel like I have a whole community behind me.”

Created by the J motion video production company

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