'I have put my life in the paws of a dog'

A woman whose career ambitions were threatened by poor health has paid tribute to her "life changing" medical detection dog after completing a master's degree.

Daisy Cottle-Bailey, 24, from Farnham, has both Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

PoTS, a condition which causes extreme tiredness, dizziness and fainting due to an abnormal increase in heart rate, left Cottle-Bailey "housebound" for almost two years until Jarvis arrived in September 2024.

"Jarvis has completely changed my life. I can see friends, I can go out. I can go to graduation, which I couldn't have before," she told BBC Radio Surrey.

Cottle-Bailey had to defer her barrister studies in 2023 while dealing with about 40 fainting episodes a day.

This "heartbreaking" decision accelerated her efforts to find a way to have some control over the condition.

She sought help from the Medical Detection Dogs charity and met Jarvis, who she had a "gut instinct" would be the right fit.

"[Having Jarvis] has also given me hope...I did think, 'how long am I supposed to live this way?'."

The retriever uses his sense of smell to detect when Cottle-Bailey is going to have a fainting episode, warning her by doing a bunny hop motion.

Even when sleeping the "gentle" Jarvis can sense an imminent episode, which have now reduced by half.

"Before getting Jarvis I was stuck in a loop of fainting," Cottle-Bailey said.

With her condition under better control, the graduate was determined to get back to her studies.

Cottle-Bailey recently graduated from Queen Mary University of London with a master's in international dispute resolution and is awaiting exam results to complete her barrister training.

She says her goal is to "practice international law, however that happens".

"I think it's important for people to see that you can do anything, even with a health condition."

The graduate praised both Jarvis and the trainers from Medical Detection Dogs as "super heroes" who have allowed her parents to relax more.

"They no longer have to run and catch me [when I faint]," she said.

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