“She means the absolute world to me, and in no light terms I owe her my life," Natalie Mitchell says about her dog Mitsy.

Twenty-one-year old Natalie, from York, has suffered mental health difficulties since she was a child. But she says taking on Mitsy, a Patterdale terrier, more than a year ago has improved her independence and quality of life immeasurably.

Natalie is among the 7,000 people in the UK who rely on an assistance dog to help with their day-to-day lives, with the dogs trained to do many tasks, from acting as a guide to fetching washing out of the washing machine.

For Natalie, Mitsy helps with her independence and wellbeing. She helps her get up in the morning and can even stop her from self-harming.

"As soon as I saw her I felt love and was very protective of her," Natalie said, "I still am, she's my little baby. Me and Mitsy bonded right away, she followed me everywhere and never left my side.

“She’s my best friend, and when I have her by my side I know that everything is going to be okay - that reassurance is so important for me.

“She has given my life back and has given me a future when I thought there wasn’t one, so I’m truly grateful for the part she has played in my life."

Natalie, who lives in York with her boyfriend Ben, first started to experience mental health difficulties as a child. The problems have escalated and Natalie has panic and anxiety attacks every day.

"Simple things that everyone take for granted every day in their lives, can be a massive task for me," she said, "I find it so hard to leave the house, it's possible with Ben, my mum or Mitsy with me, but on my own it's impossible. I would just hide away from the world scared of everything going on around me.

"I have panic attacks and anxiety attacks daily. And suffer flashbacks from past experiences that cause me great distress. I don't know what triggers these but they make going about my life very hard and almost impossible at times."

But one-year-old Mitsy's training means she is able to practically help Natalie.

If she struggles to get out of bed, Mitsy ensures Natalie doesn't stay there. "If I don't get up she will paw at me, lick my face and if that doesn't work she pulls the covers off of me, "Natalie said, "She helps me get dressed by getting clothes for me. If she picks up on [ a panic attack] building up she distracts me and keeps me focused on her. She helps me through flashbacks by licking my face and whining at me to bring me back to reality. If I get really low she will distract me by barking, whining , pawing at me and getting a toy."

Mitsy knows how to stop Natalie self-harming by pawing and climbing on her, and getting someone, Natalie said.

Natalie first heard about assistance dogs through a friend with a similar condition.

Mitsy is registered with Recovery Dogs for Wellbeing and she has an official jacket and ID to indicate her role. Recovery assistance dogs have training lessons and a training plan to ensure they are able to meet their owner's needs.

And it's not just Natalie who has noticed the difference an assistance dog has made to her life.

"Mitsy is such a lovely friendly dog with a big fun personality and is proving to be worth her weight in gold, by giving Natalie a focus and purpose to each day," her mum Bridget, said, "It's great to see her put a smile on Natalie's face. Mitsy is still in training and has two more levels to pass but she works amazingly for Natalie, they are a great team and it's wonderful to see changes in Natalie's behaviour starting to happen. No matter how small, she's getting somewhere in life now."

Natalie wants to reward her dog's efforts by reaching the Kennel Club’s Eukanuba Friends for Life final at Crufts 2017.

The Eukanuba Friends for Life awards celebrate heart-warming stories of friendship in adversity, where dogs have "truly earned the title of man’s and woman’s best friend, through bravery, support or companionship".

The pair will be hoping for a trip out for the Kennel Club’s Eukanuba Friends for Life showpiece on Sunday March 12 at Birmingham’s NEC arena.

“I went to Crufts last year for my birthday which was absolutely amazing, I loved it so much,” she said.

“Assistance dogs like her should be recognised for the lifesaving and changing work they do every day.

“As soon as I saw her she lit up my soul for the first time in a while and that’s where our journey began.”

That all came with the support and recommendation from Natalie’s family, with Mitsy around to help with the everyday tasks that may otherwise prove a large challenge.

And the bond the two have created has seen Mitsy nominated for the Giving Longevity Through Assistance category of the Eukanuba Friends for Life competition at the world’s largest dog show, something Natalie thinks is just the minimum her dog deserves.

But for Natalie, the next step is to not only get recognition for Mitsy, but also to show just how much of an impact service dogs can have.

Speaking of the potential an assistance dog has to change someone's life, Natalie said: "This is something I would recommend to anyone diagnosed with mental health illness, as you will never feel alone again, you will always have a friend to face the world with."

- Mitsy's progress can be followed on Facebook at Mitsy's Journey