How Crufts 2023 Prettiest Dog contender Harleigh saved her owner’s life

Devoted dog owner Sofie Hawkins says her beautiful pooch Harliegh "saved her life" by giving her a purpose when a motorbike crash left her suicidal.

Now the pair are performing together at Crufts 2023 at the NEC on Saturday (March 11). Sofie, aged, 25, says Harleigh - an 18 month-old Chihuahua and Miniature Pinscher crossbreed - helped her to recover after the accident left her not wanting "to be here anymore".

Sofie was knocked off her motorbike in August 2021 and suffered severe injuries - including seven broken ribs and a punctured lung. Due to temporary paralysis in her left arm which lasted for three months, Sofie was forced to quit her job as a lorry driver.

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. 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”.

But after a psychologist recommended she consider getting an emotional support dog in November 2021, she found pup Harleigh. 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".

In April 2022, Sofie entered Harleigh into a dog show in Newbury, Berkshire, where she won prettiest female. 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.

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. She gives me the motivation to get up every single day, and she helps bring me out of bad places. If it wasn’t for Harleigh I would not be here today. My life has changed since the accident, but I am very thankful to Harleigh for saving me time and time again.”

Having studied animal management at college and volunteered at local farms in her teenage years, Sofie said she “always loved animals”. “Harleigh gives me a reason to get up in the morning,” she said.

“Out in public she’s quite shy, but at home, she’s really confident and cheeky - she even steals my underwear. Harleigh comes with me to all my hospital visits - she just sits there and comforts me when I need it most. At the time of the accident, my life flashed before my eyes, so I’m now really weary of doing adventurous things. She’s very similar but we conquer our fears together.”

In April 2022, Sofie entered Harleigh into her first dog show in Newbury, Berkshire, where she won prettiest female. From there, Harleigh qualified for Crufts, where she will compete on Saturday 11 March for the crown in the prettiest female category.

“She’s a little dog with a big attitude,” Sofie said. ”She is very pretty, and I think she knows it - she likes to pose in front of the camera. She’s very spoiled - she has a better wardrobe than I do.

"I buy her loads of coats and hoodies for the winter - it makes me happy and gives me something to do. If it wasn’t for Harleigh I would not be here today. My life has changed since the accident, but I am very thankful to Harleigh for saving me time and time again.”