ASSISTANCE dog Bodhi the Bearded Collie will receive an award this week at world famous dog show Crufts.

The Bournemouth pet has been chosen for a special award from the Bearded Collie Club after news of his hard work for owner Emma Smith spread.

Emma, 32, a Bournemouth University worker, is losing her hearing in one ear and decided to train Bodhi in the future in preparation in case she lost her hearing altogether.

But within a year of owning him, Emma became seriously ill with sepsis and became immobile so Bodhi's training began earlier than expected.

She said: "I contracted sepsis, and then my mobility stopped altogether and I couldn’t bend down or walk. I was completely bedbound for a while.

"We taught Bodhi how to pick objects up, how to go and find certain objects like my medication and things like that.

"Now I’m mobile again but I do have to be careful about how much I’m moving. I lose my balance quite often and fall over so he’s trained in balance work as well, and wears a special harness to make sure I don’t fall."

To celebrate the impact he has had, Bodhi will be rewarded at the 127th edition of Crufts this week, where the Bearded Collie Club are organising a special awards event.

Medals will be presented to Kennel Club breed-registered Bearded Collies that are actively working in a therapy dog capacity to celebrate their valuable contributions to their various communities. The medals will recognise how their caring temperaments mean they can actively work in the modern world.

"They’re the happiest dogs ever" said Emma. "They have an undeniable smile – you can see that they’re always smiling and they’re known as bouncing Beardies because they bounce.

"He just wants to be friendly with everyone all the time, which is quite difficult now especially because he’s training to be an assistance dog and has to ignore everybody while he’s working.

"The amount that he has given back to me in the 18 months that we’ve had him has been phenomenal.

"I was bedbound for quite a lot of that time and my mental health would have suffered had I not had him.

"He is an incredible dog. I know that everybody thinks that their dog is the best dog, but he really is incredible."