Most people dread their morning alarm clock, but not Sarah Mohammadi – her dog Waffle wakes her up.

Sarah, 14, from Uxbridge, is profoundly deaf. Before her and Waffle, a cockapoo, were matched together in 2013, she could not and would not sleep in her bedroom.

Since the dog’s arrival, however, Sarah sleeps through the night, and in the morning Waffle hears the alarm clock and wakes her up.

Now, Sarah’s mum Sapedeh wants to recognise the difference Waffle has made to her daughter’s life with a nomination for the Child’s Hero category in the Friends For Life awards at the famous Crufts dog show next month.

“She was a really shy child but Waffle has got her out of her shell,” said Sapedeh, who works for the Royal Mail.

“Before, she would have just looked at them, would not have made eye contact with strangers.

“She would never talk but now she will happily explain about her dog.

“There is confidence, it is a big huge change now.”

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.

Cockapoos are famously loving, outgoing dogs. And the breed is known for its propensity for retrieving games, part of which makes Waffle such a good companion.

“We will say, ‘Waffle, go get Sarah’,and she’ll go upstairs, get her, and bring her downstairs,” said Sapedeh.

“People with her disability need that support. She is always there for her – she is the alarm clock!

“You see her and think she is a normal child, but she comes with a big package.”

Sarah was matched with Waffle just before Christmas five years ago, and says he was the best present she ever got.

Hopefully it can be topped with a win at Crufts.