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The owner took a photo of the puppy’s horrifying reaction to her fainting

The owner took a photo of the puppy’s horrifying reaction to her fainting

A woman who suffers from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) has shared footage of the moment she passed out and her puppy immediately sprung into action.

Whether she’s lying on the couch, working out or just sitting in her car, 21-year-old Karina Drury never knows when she’s going to pass out. Living with POTS, a type of dysautonomia, means Drury can often sense when she’s about to pass out, but there’s little she can do about it.

Indeed, one of the most recent episodes occurred while she was running errands with her husband, Luke. He got out of the car, leaving Drury, of Indiana, inside with their 4-month-old cockapoo, Bentley.

As she passed out and passed out, Bentley came to her aid in no time, licking her face to try and bring her back, before sticking his head out the window to alert Luke that something was wrong.

“I thought it was the nicest thing that Bentley knew something was wrong, even though he’s not a service dog, and he wanted to help me,” Drury said. “Bentley helps me feel cared for, even when I’m alone. It’s very important to me that he cares about me and can understand when my vital signs are different.”

Puppy helps owner after fainting
Bentley, a 4-month-old cockapoo, reacts when his owner passes out in the car. The puppy licked Karina Drury’s face and tried to get her husband’s attention.

@karinadrury / TikTok

What is POTS?

POTS is a circulatory disorder that causes the heart to beat faster when going from a sitting to standing position. It is estimated to affect about 1 to 3 million Americans and is more common in women, most likely to develop during adolescence, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The common symptoms of POTS include dizziness, fainting, brain fog, fatigue, headache, blurred vision, tremors, and nausea. Although the causes of POTS are still unknown, many people living with the condition can manage it with diet, medication, and physical therapy.

Dr. Anita Fung, medical monitor at Lindus Health, previously reported Newsweek that symptoms may be aggravated by prolonged sitting, standing, or increased activity.

“My main recommendation is for people to keep themselves safe by identifying and avoiding triggers, teaching people around them how to manage the episode (eg put them with their feet up, put them in a recovery position) and strongly consider medical alerting ” said Fung.

Raising awareness in social networks

When Drury felt that she was about to pass out, she propped up her phone to record it. When she saw Bentley’s quick action, she felt so moved by his efforts to help her.

She had only fainted in front of Bentley a couple of times before, but he still knew what signs to look out for.

Drury shared video on TikTok (@karinadrury) and the clip has gone viral with over 692,900 views and over 69,400 likes at the time of writing.

“It was so heartwarming to see the footage of Bentley trying to take care of me,” Drury said. Newsweek. “He’s still so young and I’ve only had him for a few months, but he’s done such a great job being there for me when my health is getting the best of me.”

She continued: “Bentley is an incredible dog and although he won’t be officially trained for my condition, he has already been an incredible help and such a joy.”

Drury and her husband began teaching Bentley a few tricks he could do to help her. If she passes out while lying down, Bentley is trained to lie on top of her for protection, and he will also run to call Luke for help.

Drury often uses social media to raise awareness about dysautonomia and show people how she copes with each situation. She previously shared a video of what happened when she passed out in the gymat home and at the grocery store.

Since the video of her passing out in the car was posted, it has garnered more than 140 comments on TikTok at the time of writing. Many netizens praised Bentley for trying help your master without hesitation

One comment said: “His little panic when he couldn’t get your husband’s attention.”

Another person wrote: “Wow what a cute baby! He must have been worried about you!”

A third TikTok user added: “Lady, this is now your service puppy too! He did a great job.”

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