When Leah brought a beautiful little puppy home three years ago, she wasn’t to know what a massive difference she was going to make to her life. Doris, a mini Schnauzer cross Yorkshire Terrier, was going to give Leah, who suffers from PoTS, her confidence back. 

The little dog, while still untrained, began alerting Leah to oncoming episodes of PoTS but initially Leah did not realise this is what she was doing. It was only after she realized what Doris’ behaviour meant that she approached Medical Detection Dogs for advice and help with training.

“Training had it’s testing times but was also fun and laughs” says Leah. “I didn’t want to do the training wrong at any point.
Doris has so much personality, she is very fun and loving but can be judgy at times too. She can give a very good side eye. She also absolutely loves a ball and can play football by herself”, adds Leah.

Doris has opened up Leah’s world by helping her regain confidence. “She has allowed me not to set limits on where I go. Her timely alerts mean I can stay safe and this gives me confidence. I can go places independently that I would not have considered before. Life has changed massively for the better.”