POTS and Bailey

Well, unless any of you are aware of this condition, you are now staring at the headline and asking what the heck POTS is.  Of course, if you are familiar with Bailey, now one of the most famous service dogs of all time, you will be aware of POTS. If it is any consolation, I also didn’t have a clue. As I am fond of reminding everyone, this site not only brings you great dog stories but also provides additional information that adds to the reader’s knowledge, allowing you to impress your guests at your next dinner party. For the uninitiated, including me, this stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. That’s a hell of a mouthful. This is where we delve into one of those very strange medical issues that affect only a small percentage of the population worldwide. This is a condition that occurs when someone stands up after either sitting or lying down and experiences an accelerated heart rate, dizziness and extreme fatigue created by a failure of the autonomic nervous system, leading to blood pooling in the lower body. The majority of sufferers will be female between the ages of 15 and 50 years old, but because of the difficulties of diagnosis, it is impossible to calculate how many people are living with POTS.

To date, there is no known cure, and the sufferers can only make lifestyle changes and rely on medication. Just to complicate matters, there are approximately twenty symptoms indicating the arrival of POTS, some of which are also the obvious symptoms of other conditions. This makes the diagnosis of this even more difficult for the medical profession, leading to many having this condition for years without it being recognised. Therefore, it may be more prevalent than we think, as many sufferers are being misdiagnosed.

The condition is not fatal and does not threaten longevity, so those who have this condition can expect to live as long as everyone else.

The role of Assistance Dogs

So why am I telling you about this horrible condition with no cure?

Because, of course, our best friend is now on hand to assist. This condition starts with the rise in the sufferer’s blood pressure and issues with heart rate. The trained assistance dog is able to recognise the signs and indicate to their human that they need to place themselves in a safe position, thus ensuring that they don’t faint while upright, therefore not causing serious injury by collapsing. This they do by nudging, pawing or using other trained behaviours.

All this was brought home to all of us by an extraordinary incident that was captured on CCTV in a lady’s home. It is rare to have the opportunity to watch a dog saving someone from a perilous situation, particularly as the service dog chose to ignore protocol to fulfil his duties.

In 2019, Katie Graham acquired Bailey, an Australian Shepherd Dog, to assist her in managing her condition. Fortunately, Katie had installed cameras in her home, but even she could not have imagined that the video of her dog ensuring her safety would be viewed millions of times on TikTok.

Katie was doing the washing up when Bailey realised that she was about to suffer an attack. He insisted she sit down, he collected her mobile phone and gave it to her and then realised that her medication was on the worktop out of his reach. Despite knowing that jumping onto the worktop was strictly forbidden, he made the decision to ignore the rules as his mistress was in danger; he then retrieved the medication before carrying it to her. He then opened the fridge door and brought Katie the requisite bottle of water to take the medication.

Baily is also trained in the art of deep pressure therapy, where the dog is trained to lie or lean on their human, thus promoting a sense of relaxation and comfort. This treatment is also used by service dogs to assist those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, autism, ADHD, anxiety, depression, panic attacks and sensory processing disorder. This act by the service dog encourages the human to cuddle and stroke their dog, thus counteracting the mounting symptoms of their particular disorder.

Training Assistance Dogs

Just in case you are wondering how long it takes to train a POTS dog, it will be between 1 – 2 years and costs anything from $15,000 – $40,000, depending on the complexity of tasks they will be required to undertake.

For those who wish to follow the fortunes of Katie and Bailey, they can be viewed on TikTok, and they are featured on YouTube in the video below.