A DISABLED woman has praised her assistance dog who came to her rescue after she fainted twice in public.

Megan Taylor, who lives in Sutton, was aged 15 in 2011 when she fainted at a Remembrance Sunday service in Surbiton, London, hitting her head on the kerb and fracturing her skull in multiple places.

This caused her to develop a complex neurological disorder that means she can suddenly lose her sight momentarily and faint without warning.

She has two dogs, Ruby and Rowley, who have been trained to assist her in everyday life.

All that training came to good use yesterday, Tuesday, January 22, when Megan collapsed on the way to her hospital appointment and Rowley leapt into action and called her emergency contacts using a specially adapted phone and stayed by her side until she regained consciousness.

Megan, 22, said: "I cannot fully explain just how proud I am of this little life-saver.

"He guided me so beautifully through the snow storm, and performed a perfect medical response.

"We were walking through the park at the time, so it would have been very tempting for him to run off and play with the other dogs, but he instead chose to stay by my side and activate the emergency dog phone like I taught him.

"When I woke up he was standing beside me with his lead in his mouth, as if to say 'you dropped this'.

"I gave him a big hug and several biscuits for being such a good boy, and, as I was uninjured, we continued on our way to my appointment."

However, after reaching the hospital and getting blood tests, Megan went to the bathroom where she again lost consciousness, but Rowley once again came to her rescue by using the emergency contact phone and pulling the emergency red cord to alert staff.

Megan added: "When I woke up I felt extremely dizzy and disoriented, as I had hit my head on the wall behind me. Every time I tried to stand up I would loose my balance and end up back on the floor.

"Rowley had already pressed his button to alert my emergency contacts, but I wondered if he may also be able to pull the emergency red cord to make staff aware of my situation.

"This is not something Rowley has ever been taught, but by using similar behaviours that he knows well I was able to coach him through it.

"I pointed in the direction of the red cord and asked him to get it and after first fetching a tissue on the floor he without hesitation grabbed hold of the cord and pulled it just hard enough for it to activate.

"I am so grateful to Dog A.I.D. (Assistance In Disability) for giving me the skills I need to teach Rowley these life saving tasks, and guide him towards success in real life situations like this one.

"What a truly incredible gift.

"For those who may be wondering what happened to the tissue, Rowley ate it.

"He might be an incredibly smart life-saving dog, but he is also a complete doofus, and I wouldn't change him for the world."