An intuitive dog is believed to have rescued her owner from falling into a diabetic coma by waking her in the night.

Clever Gypsy the dog sniffed her owner's breath and saved the 69-year-old Lincolnshire woman's life in the nick of time as she fell into a life-threatening diabetic coma

Gypsy made sure her owner Pam Mansfield got the medical attention she needed

An intuitive dog is believed to have rescued her owner from falling into a diabetic coma by waking her in the night.

Pam Mansfield, 69, says Gypsy saved her life by bringing her round in the early hours of last Monday morning.

A vet has told Mrs Mansfield that Gypsy would have smelt ketones, a harmful substance created if the body does not get enough glucose, on her breath.

Mrs Mansfield, who owns an Exotic Pet Refuge in Deeping St James, Lincolnshire, has been living with diabetes for 25 years after it was picked up prior to an operation.

She said: “She is so responsive and protective of me, I have never had a dog like her. I love her to bits.

Gypsy rescued her owner Pam from falling into a diabetic coma by waking her in the night

 

“She means the world to me and that moment put the icing on the cake.

“If Gypsy had not woken me I would have died.”

There are more than 3.5 million people in this country who have been diagnosed with diabetes and another 500,000 are thought to living with the condition undiagnosed.

Mrs Mansfield said she went to bed last week feeling fine but at 4am she became aware of Gypsy trying to wake her.

She said: “She was crying and pushing at me to make me wake up. Gypsy would not leave me alone until I woke up.

“When I came to, I realised I was having a hypo and did a sugar level test and it was very low.”

Thankfully, Mrs Mansfield keeps a bar of chocolate by her bed after suffering from a night-time hypo on a previous occasion.

After eating some of the chocolate, Mrs Mansfield, who believes the hypo was brought on by not eating enough the day before, came around but Gypsy remained constantly by her side.

She said: “She got on the bed and would not leave me. I went downstairs for a drink and she followed me. It took me four hours to get over it. I was really wobbly and Gypsy would not leave me alone.

“I have never had such a perceptive dog. She seems to know me very well.

“She has had a lot of fuss. Everyone has been loving her since and think she’s a real celebrity.”

Mrs Manfield founded the Exotic Pet Refuge in 1984 alongside her late husband Mel. With the help of a dedicated team of volunteers she is now caring for more than 200 animals including reptiles, cats and wolfdogs, monkeys and silver foxes and otters.