Natalie Mitchell trusts her dog Mitsy with her life.

After suffering from severe mental health problems for years, Natalie, from York, adopted Mitsy when she was just eight weeks old.

The 22-year-old credits the Patterdale terrier for turning her life around and is hoping to reward Mitsy’s loyalty with the Hero Assistance Dog award – part of the Friends for Life awards - at Crufts next month.

“She needs distracting from self-harming and nightmares, when she has flashbacks,” said Natalie’s mum Bridget.

“She was severely bullied at school, and this is where a lot of her mental health issues have come from.

“She’s always had animals in her life, and they’ve always helped her.”

Friends for Life is a celebration of just how much dogs change and improve people’s lives. Five of the finalists will go to the 127th edition of Crufts – where every dog has its day – held once again at the NEC in Birmingham, where the winner will be announced on Sunday, March 11.

People can vote for the dog they want to win by visiting the Crufts website, with the victor receiving £5,000 from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust to donate to a dog charity of their choice and runners-up £1,000.

Natalie’s partner Ben encouraged her to get a dog of her own three years ago and she trained Mitsy up with the support of Recovery Assistance Dogs, a Leicestershire-based charity which helps people suffering from anxiety and panic attacks.

Particularly severe episodes of anxiety can cause Natalie to lose her vision and even lose consciousness, so Mitsy alerts her when she senses Natalie starting to worry.

“One of the reasons we went for a small dog was so she can jump up into her arms,” says Bridget.

“When anxiety comes, Mitsy is hugging her. It’s like deep pressure therapy, so that brings the heart rate and the breathing back down.

“Natalie passed out the other day when she was on her own at her flat and when she came round Mitsy was on her chest barking at her.”

And both Natalie and Bridget are hoping for recognition at Crufts, to boost the profile of invisible disabilities and the dogs who help sufferers.

“You wouldn’t know if you saw Nat walking along the street,” says Bridget.

“It’s nice to show the invisible disabilities and I think Nat would be quite proud of that as well, to get that out there.

“To win would be the pride of knowing that Mitsy is being rewarded.

“It would boost her confidence, she would just be so proud.”