LIVING proof that a dog really can be a man - or a woman's - best friend is a big-hearted mongrel called Sacha.

She's the constant companion of 41-year-old mother-of-three Michele Gatens, but is far more than just a cute pet.

Mrs Gatens, from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, has a busy lifestyle, despite an illness which required brain surgery and left her with very poor balance and deafness.

Sacha plays a vital role in her life by acting as her ears.

Now the mongrel has been named runner-up in the Rescue Hearing Dog category of the first-ever awards given by the charity Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.

Mrs Gaten's husband, Terry, said: "Michele is highly independent and will struggle to do everything she can for herself, but her poor balance means that she could fall over at any time. This worried me.

"Sacha has been trained to fetch the mobile phone from anywhere in the house, so Michele is always in a position to call help."

Sacha also listens for anything that falls and will pick it up - even before Michele knows she has dropped it.

"She has really changed my life," said Mrs Gatens.