Dog warns her owner when she’s about to have an epileptic fit

Poppy the the Labrador can sense when her owner is about to have an epileptic fit. Shannon Locke, 23, from Bangor in County Down, Northern Ireland was diagnosed with severe epilepsy after suffering a massive attack when she was 17. When her condition was at its worst, she was having up to 20 seizures a day, forcing Shannon to drop out of college and become housebound.



But when Poppy came along she became a lifeline for Shannon. Shannon says two-year-old Poppy appeared to be able to predict a seizure in advance. And now she has filmed her dog in action in a bid to raise awareness of Disability Assistance Dogs charity to show everyone what Poppy can do. Poppy's sixth sense told her to alert Shannon that a seizure was on its way 15 minutes before the event.



That gave her owner time to set up her camera, get into a safe position on her bed, and film the whole thing. In the video Poppy licks Shannon's mouth to prevent her choking on saliva as her fit takes hold. Shannon, after doing some research on the subject, sought out some expert advice from Neil Powell from Newcastle who has spent 30 years training dogs for emergency rescue and recovery work.
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Shannon told Neil how Poppy would seek her out, then sit and stare at her and this would always precede a seizure. Then Neil taught the Labrador to paw at his owner's leg to alert her to an attack. Neil is now using his expertise to conduct a pioneering study at Queen's University, Belfast, examining whether dogs can warn epilepsy sufferers about a seizure before it strikes.