An epileptic teenager has been thrown a lifeline by her four-legged best friend.

Nineteen-year-old Torie Klein, from Ilkley, and her Labrador puppy Juno have embarked on a new three-month training course that could transform her life.

And Torie is hoping she will be able to have more independence with the help of eight-month-old Juno who will act as her early warning system for seizures.

Juno will be taught to recognise the signs that precede a fit and alert Torie by becoming excited and barking, giving her time to make herself as safe as possible.

The training will make him one of only 20 dogs in the world specially trained to recognise the signs that a seizure is on its way.

Torie's mum, Avril Konrad, said: "She's had a rough time of it but she never grumbles or feels sorry for herself. She just has a 'let's get on with life' attitude. Hopefully Juno will give her the freedom that she wants and needs."

Torie has suffered from epilepsy since she was seven when experts believe a bout of whooping cough left her with a scar on her brain.

She suffers numerous epileptic fits a day which can make the simplest of tasks dangerous.

Torie said: "I have never had a dog before but I really don't think that I could live without Juno now.

"It was quite a struggle saving up for Juno out of my disability allowance but she's worth every penny.

"I am just looking forward to the day when I can go out for walks with her."

It costs £250 to buy one of the special dogs and £3,000 to train them.

Val Strong, training manager for the Sheffield-based Support Dogs Charity who are training Juno, said: "We are the first organisation in the world to do this type of training as far as I know.

"Having a support dog can dramatically change people's lives. One person said that before she had a dog she had epilepsy with a little bit of life but now she has a life with a little bit of epilepsy.

"Dogs don't have a sixth sense but they can be taught to look for behavioural changes in a person that happen before a seizure.

"We have also found that the number of fits people have actually drops once they have a dog because they feel more confident and more in control of their own lives.

"Torie seems like a very determined, young lady and I'm sure she will do well."

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