"My dog saved my life - now we're performing together at Crufts"
- last year
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.
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".
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.”
Sofie adopted her emotional support dog, Haleigh, after a serious motorbike accident left her feeling suicidal.
Sofie was knocked off her motorbike by a car while taking part in the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride in Poole, Dorset, in August 2021.
She suffered devastating injuries including seven broken ribs, a punctured lung, a lacerated liver and a broken scapular.
She was knocked out for 45 minutes, had to undergo emergency surgeries and remained in hospital for two weeks.
"When I came round on the floor, I didn’t really understand what was going on,” she said.
“I had so many people around me - it was like a dream.
“I was rushed to hospital and doctors had to re-inflate my lung twice - it was very scary.”
The experience also had a severe impact on Sofie’s mental health.
“I lost my older brother to suicide in 2018 and was already struggling with that anyway.
“Everything hit me at once and I didn’t want to be here anymore.”
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".
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.”
Sofie adopted her emotional support dog, Haleigh, after a serious motorbike accident left her feeling suicidal.
Sofie was knocked off her motorbike by a car while taking part in the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride in Poole, Dorset, in August 2021.
She suffered devastating injuries including seven broken ribs, a punctured lung, a lacerated liver and a broken scapular.
She was knocked out for 45 minutes, had to undergo emergency surgeries and remained in hospital for two weeks.
"When I came round on the floor, I didn’t really understand what was going on,” she said.
“I had so many people around me - it was like a dream.
“I was rushed to hospital and doctors had to re-inflate my lung twice - it was very scary.”
The experience also had a severe impact on Sofie’s mental health.
“I lost my older brother to suicide in 2018 and was already struggling with that anyway.
“Everything hit me at once and I didn’t want to be here anymore.”