Life-saving parrot spots warning signs of owner's illness

A 62-year-old woman who suffers from a sleeping disorder that causes her to stop breathing claims her African Grey parrot has learnt to read the signs of her illness.

Barbara Smith-Schafer, from Skegness, Lincolnshire, says the bird, called Dominic, frantically flaps his wings and gnaws at her shoulder if he notices a dangerous pause in her breathing.

Mrs Smith-Schafer was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in 2009.

The illness causes a person's airway to collapse during sleep, obstructing breathing and often causing the person to snore loudly.

It puts a strain on the heart and can lead to a number of serious health conditions, including stroke and dementia.

Sleep apnoea is characterised by loud and heavy snoring, which Mrs Smith-Schafer says alerted Dominic to the problem.

Dominic, who can also speak a few words of German because Bernhard grew up in Germany, learned to imitate her snoring and whenever he notices a pause in her breathing he wakes her up.

Mrs Smith-Schafer has now been prescribed a Philips CPAP machine, which provides a gentle flow of air pressure through her nose using a mask.

The air pressure prevents airway collapse, allowing her to breathe freely during sleep.

"My mask has completely changed my life," she said.

"For the first time in a long time, I feel like I can see light at the end of the tunnel, and have got some of my mobility back after years of feeling too tired to get off the couch.

"And of course whilst I'm grateful to Dominic for keeping an eye on me, I certainly won't miss the painful alarm calls or his mocking my snoring."