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Mrs South Africa 2026 finalist, Chanélle Badenhorst, shares her mission with Dotsure, proud supporter of the Mrs SA 2026 pageant. She is helping raise awareness of heart health and medical assistance dogs as Golden Retriever Klara-Belle trains to support her through cardiac episodes.
When Chanélle Badenhorst survived a sudden cardiac arrest, she had to learn how to live with a new reality. A pacemaker and ongoing heart-rhythm challenges became part of her life, along with the uncertainty of not always knowing when a medical episode might occur.
Today, the wife, mother of two and Mrs South Africa 2026 finalist is sharing her experience to encourage conversations about heart health, resilience, and the support available to people living with medical conditions.
An important part of that story is Klara-Belle, her Golden Retriever, who is training to become her cardiac support dog.
For Chanélle, the journey is about more than training a dog to perform specific tasks. It is also about finding ways to feel safer and more independent while continuing to enjoy everyday life.
“Sometimes resilience is simply choosing to keep participating in your own life while you are still afraid,” she says.
Medical Alert Dog Training
Klara-Belle is being trained by Honey’s Garden: Medical Alert Dogs SA, under the guidance of founding director Lucy Breytenbach.
Lucy has known Chanélle for years, having previously assisted her with her pet dogs through her pet behaviour company, Just Dogs. She now oversees Klara-Belle’s specialist training.
Medical assistance dogs undergo training to help people manage disabilities or chronic medical conditions. Unlike therapy dogs, which provide comfort in approved care settings, or emotional-support dogs trained to assist their owners at home, assistance dogs are prepared to perform specific tasks and accompany their handlers in public.
Klara-Belle is learning to respond to changes associated with Chanélle’s heart condition, including changes in body scent that may accompany physiological changes. She is also being trained to help Chanélle during an episode, guide her towards a safer place, and retrieve items such as a cell phone or medication bag.
Chanélle says Klara-Belle is also learning tasks intended to help her if she loses consciousness during an episode of syncope.
The training takes time and consistency. Klara-Belle still needs to complete further assessments and qualify for public access. Her scent responses and ability to work reliably in busy public environments must also be refined.
Understanding the Role of Assistance Dogs
According to Lucy, suitable candidates need confidence and the ability to learn complex tasks while remaining calm and focused in different environments.
Handlers also have an ongoing responsibility to maintain their dogs’ skills and recertify annually.
Public understanding remains a challenge. People may see a dog and assume it is simply a pet, without realising the important work taking place. Lucy encourages the public not to call, touch, feed, or otherwise distract a working assistance dog.
For Chanélle, greater awareness could make everyday experiences less complicated for people who rely on these animals.
Living with a heart condition has not removed her desire to work or be present for her daughters. Klara-Belle may offer an additional layer of support as she continues doing those things.
Through her Mrs South Africa platform, Chanélle hopes her story will encourage people to take heart-health symptoms seriously and learn more about the importance of assistance dogs in South Africa.
She also hopes her daughters will see that courage does not require the absence of fear.
Sometimes, it means taking the next step anyway.
Dotsure Limited (Registration number 2006/000723/06) is a licensed non-life insurer and authorised financial services provider (FSP39925). Voted South Africa’s Best Pet Insurance 2023-2026 by readers of The Star, Die Burger, Beeld, City Press and Rekord.