A student who collapsed moments before a house fire was saved by her hero dog when the animal woke her up by licking her face and pulling at her jumper.
Melody Chen, 19, suffers from a rare heart condition and low blood sugar which causes her to pass out up to nine times a day.
She was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia syndrome (PoTs) which means she can suddenly feel faint unless she eats.
She was cooking scrambled eggs when she walked into her living room to get her insulin medication but collapsed before she could take it.
The hob quickly caught fire and Melody lay helpless as the flames swept through her home in Stoke-on-Trent on March 24.
Luckily, Melody’s German Shepherd Mia leapt into action when she saw thick black smoke filling the kitchen.
The one-year-old pup found her owner passed out on the sofa and began to lick Melody’s ears and tug at her jumper.
Melody managed to come around so that she and Mia could scramble to safety.
The student vet said: “I can’t thank my dog enough. I hate to think what might have happened to me if she wasn’t there to wake me and alert me about the fire.
“I had gone downstairs to make scrambled egg on toast for breakfast at about 10am and the next thing I knew Mia was licking my ears to save me from the flames.
“Mia was barking a lot and she doesn’t normally do this so I knew something was wrong.
“There were yellow flames rising from the cooker that reached the ceiling and black smoke everywhere.
“It was pretty bad. The damage from the fire isn’t too bad but I’ll have to replace the extractor fan and one of the cooker hobs.”
Melody bought Mia a year ago to become her service dog to monitor her heart and blood sugar conditions.
The woman's heart condition means she can faint up to nine times a day and Mia has been taught to nudge or jump at her to alert her to sit down before she falls unconscious.
Melody said: “She has saved my life on multiple occasions.
“Before I had Mia I was scared to leave the house in case I fainted or had a panic attack or my sugar levels got really low.
“But now I have my service dog, I no longer live like a hermit crab and can go to college without fear.
“She has been trained to use her scent to know when my heart rate has dropped or increased and paws me to sit down as she knows I’m going to faint.
“Since getting Mia I haven’t fainted as she always tells me to sit down in enough time.
“She is also trained to give me deep pressure therapy where she puts pressure on my body to help lower my heart rate.
“Mia also helps me with my mental health and PTSD and is trained to interrupt harmful behaviours if she sees me doing them.
“She always wears a red vest when she is on duty to let other people know she is a service dog.
“Mia is the happiest dog I know and she loves going on walks.
“She is very inquisitive and alert but also very happy.
“Mia has also been nominated for the assistant dog of the year award for Animal Stars which I am very proud of.”
