A woman says her dog "saved her life" by giving her a purpose when a motorbike crash left her suicidal - and now the pair are performing together at Crufts.<br /><br />Sofie Hawkins, 25, says her Chihuahua and Miniature Pinscher crossbreed, Harleigh, 18 months, helped her to recover after the accident left her not wanting "to be here anymore".<br /><br />Sofie was knocked off her motorbike in August 2021 and suffered severe injuries - including seven broken ribs and a punctured lung.<br /><br />Due to temporary paralysis in her left arm which lasted for three months, Sofie was forced to quit her job as a lorry driver.<br /><br />She also had to give up many of her hobbies, including gymnastics, pole dancing and horse riding - which left her feeling “very lonely and cut off” from friends.<br /><br />Having already lost her older brother, Daniel, 21, to suicide in 2018, Sofie’s mental health went “severely downhill” to the point that she “didn’t want to be here anymore”.<br /><br />But after a psychologist recommended she consider getting an emotional support dog in November 2021, she found pup Harleigh.<br /><br />The pooch has attended all of Sofie's hospital, physio and counselling appointments during her recovery and gives her "the motivation to get up in the morning".<br /><br />In April 2022, Sofie entered Harleigh into a dog show in Newbury, Berkshire, where she won prettiest female.<br /><br />Off the back of her triumph, Harleigh qualified for Crufts - the world’s largest dog show - this Saturday 11 March. She will battle it out alongside other contestants for the crown of Prettiest Female.<br /><br />Sofie, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, said: “It doesn’t matter how Harleigh does on Saturday, I’m just proud of her for how far she’s got.<br /><br />“She gives me the motivation to get up every single day, and she helps bring me out of bad places.<br /><br />“If it wasn’t for Harleigh I would not be here today.<br /><br />“My life has changed since the accident, but I am very thankful to Harleigh for saving me time and time again.”<br /><br />Sofie adopted her emotional support dog, Haleigh, after a serious motorbike accident left her feeling suicidal.<br /><br />Sofie was knocked off her motorbike by a car while taking part in the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride in Poole, Dorset, in August 2021.<br /><br />She suffered devastating injuries including seven broken ribs, a punctured lung, a lacerated liver and a broken scapular.<br /><br />She was knocked out for 45 minutes, had to undergo emergency surgeries and remained in hospital for two weeks.<br /><br />"When I came round on the floor, I didn’t really understand what was going on,” she said.<br /><br />“I had so many people around me - it was like a dream.<br /><br />“I was rushed to hospital and doctors had to re-inflate my lung twice - it was very scary.”<br /><br />The experience also had a severe impact on Sofie’s mental health.<br /><br />“I lost my older brother to suicide in 2018 and was already struggling with that anyway.<br /><br />“Everything hit me at once and I didn’t want to be here anymore.”
