“Dogs Can Sniff Out Epileptic Seizures”

Web Desk — An experienced dog trainer based in Northern Ireland, has detected a life-saving way of shielding epileptic people from dreaded seizures.

According to a BBC report, Neil Powell of Newcastle has recently been awarded a PhD after research he led at the Queen’s University Belfast showed dogs can predict epileptic seizures and warn owners.

Powell’s dogs found many missing people and recovered bodies at major earthquakes in Algeria and Pakistan and from the 1988 Lockerbie air disaster.

According to the report, dogs in Powell’s study reacted to an odour associated with seizures and then tried to “warm” their owners by grabbing their attention.

During the study, an epileptic woman noticed her dog used to come close to her some 15 minutes before a seizure and just stare at her. Then she realized that it was her pet’s way of trying to warn her of the coming fit.

The epileptic lady Karen Browne said her dog was giving her a 15-minute warning of an impending seizure was a great comfort.

Mr Powell has now started training pet dogs for detecting dreaded seizures in epileptic people.