"My experience as a disabled person has altered"

Mrs O'Connor's dog Tori was trained by Support Dogs, which is the only organisation in the UK to also train seizure alert dogs, giving people with epilepsy up to 40 minutes warning of an oncoming seizure.

The pair were then enrolled into a 12 month training programme before becoming a fully qualified partnership.

Mrs O'Connor says that having Tori helps change the way she is treated in public:

"Since I got her it is really interesting how my experience as a disabled person in society has altered.

"Normally outdoors I use a mobility scooter and previously I have occasionally found that people, while helpful, can also appear awkward, uncomfortable or embarrassed around me because of my disability.

"With Tori the whole experience seems to be reframed into a positive, happy encounter. She makes people smile, they are keen to chat about their own dogs or what Tori does for me - not about the bag I've just dropped."