BELLA is not just any old dog... she’s a pooch with a potentially life-saving sixth sense.

The 12-year-old Maltese Poodle has developed the uncanny ability to detect when her owner is suffering from the symptoms of diabetes during her sleep.

Nadine Roberts, from Nutgrove, said Bella, pictured with her, picked up the skill around five years ago, but is baffled as to how.

Dogs can be trained to identify and act upon the subtle changes that low blood sugar can trigger in body chemistry, which are undetectable for humans.

Thirty-year-old Nadine, who works at the Mobility Shop on Claughton Street, explained: “I didn’t train her to do it, she just started doing it out of the blue. I have had diabetes for 21-years and sometimes in the night I might have a low.

I start to get fidgety and Bella can pick up the signs.

“First she will growl then she will give me a nudge and jingle her collar. If that doesn’t work, she will scratch the door.

“It is a comfort and can be really useful, because if she can tell I’m having a low, I can do something about it.”

Nadine, who lives with her partner Alan, said she has tried to get Bella registered as a specially trained dog, but her age went against her.

She explained: “I have had a medical report by a diabetic specialist and there is even a group called Companion Dogs, but they won’t take her on as she’s 12.”