![Bridget Wall can cope better with her rare heart condition thanks to her cardiac assistance dog, Betsy, who lets her know in advance when she's going to faint. [Photo: SYLVIA LIBER/stuff.co]](https://www.fijivillage.com/news_images/20531522165c588fe9fdb15bcb7a90.jpg)
An Australian woman’s dog knows she will get sick before she does.
Ten minutes before Bridget Wall faints, her dog Betsy will alert her by placing a paw on her leg and staring intently into her eyes.
It gives the 22‑year‑old resident of Kiama, on Sydney, Australia's south coast, time to find a safe space to lie down and put her feet up – and may avert the fainting episode altogether.
Stuff.co.nz reports that the cardiac alert dog also gives the young woman the confidence to get out and about, and to better cope with the heart condition she's lived with for over a decade.
With such a fine sense of smell the dog, Betsy can detect subtle changes in Wall's sweat and saliva that forewarn of a fainting episode.
The four‑year‑old dog can also detect changes in her owner's blood sugar levels – although she has a different warning system for when that happens.
Wall received assistance to train Betsy, who has since passed the Public Access test as an assistance dog accessing public spaces.
[Source: stuff.co.nz]
