Apart from being an adorable family pet, Yogi the chocolate Labrador is smarter that the average dog... and a lot more useful to his owner. Health Editor Barry Nelson meets the North-East's latest TV celebrities.

DANIEL George still can't believe what happened. Last weekend the 12-year-old from South Tyneside was watched by millions of television viewers as he and his specially trained Labrador, Yogi, were presented with a prize at the famous Crufts dog show.

After hearing how a close and life-changing bond had been formed between the wheelchair-bound youngster and his four-legged friend, viewers voted in their thousands to give the pair the Kennel Club's Friends for Life trophy.

There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Even the security guards were blubbing as the pair received an unprecedented standing ovation from the Crufts audience.

Meanwhile, back home in Hebburn, Daniel plays the video over and over again to remind him that it wasn't a dream.

Daniel's mother, Mary George, admits she is still in shock. Since winning at Crufts they have been inundated with requests for interviews and pictures. Suddenly, because of a chocolate-brown dog who has been taught to do some remarkable things about the house, this ordinary family have become famous.

"We have had masses of emails from total strangers congratulating us. It really does your heart good that so many people care," says Mary, who admits that life with a severely disabled child can be very demanding.

But Yogi, now an integral part of the George family, has had a massive impact on Daniel's quality of life and taken pressure off his mum.

Daniel has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a severe inherited muscle disorder which affects and limits every aspect of his life. In the past year, he has lost the ability to walk unaided and now has to be lifted in and out of his powered wheelchair.

That's why having a 24-hour-a-day doggy assistant has been such a boon.

Yogi has been trained to respond to commands to open doors, click light switches, pick up items from the floor and bark if Daniel is in trouble.

And that's just for starters.

The ever-eager dog has also been trained to help Daniel dress and undress and is a dab hand at pulling off socks and hats with his teeth.

Yogi sleeps in Daniel's specially adapted downstairs room and if his master's duvet slips down during the night, he will jump up and pull it into position. He even empties the family washing machine.

And when it's time for fun, Yogi is a sweet-natured, loving family pet who loves to play-fight with Daniel's brother and sister and adores being taken to the local park.

Daniel and Yogi's story began two years ago when they met for the first time at the Dogs for the Disabled charity headquarters in Banbury, Oxfordshire. "I had seen something on television about disabled children in America being given dog assistants and wondered whether we could have one too," says Mary.

After a lot of research on the Internet, she tracked down an American charity and sent them an email asking if anyone in the UK was involved in providing canine helpers for kids. "The American said they had just had a visit from Dogs for the Disabled UK who were thinking of doing a pilot scheme. I wrote to them and we were invited to visit them," she says.

Dogs for the Disabled was set up in 1988 by disabled woman Frances Hay.

Impressed at her own pet dog's ability to pick up items and open doors, Frances wondered whether this could be developed to help other disabled people.

Since then the charity has gone from strength-to-strength and so far it has trained more than 300 dogs to help disabled people live more independently. In 2004, the charity started the first scheme in the country to train dogs for disabled children.

When Daniel and Mary arrived at Banbury, they were introduced to three potential doggy partners. Mary remembers Daniel saying that he wanted the chocolate-coloured one. "When they let Yogi off the leash, he ran straight at Daniel, kissing and licking him. He chose Daniel, I think it was fate," his mother says.

A few weeks later the charity called the George family and invited them back to spend more time with Yogi and to start training. Bizarrely, Mary found herself leading a human trainer around attached to a dog lead.

"They did this to check that I was using the voice commands properly, instead of just yanking on the lead. It did seem funny," laughs Mary. "It's like a three-way team, I am the team leader, Daniel is the client and Yogi is the dog. We all have to work together."

Since Yogi moved in to the George home, he has become an indispensable member of the family. From picking up the TV remote to endlessly opening and closing doors for Daniel, Yogi is an invaluable help to his young master.

But apart from his 'working' role, Yogi just loves being an adored family pet. "He is still a dog, at the end of the day he likes doing doggy things. He goes crazy when he sees a cat out of the window, he loves going to the park and he likes a bit of rough and tumble," says Mary.

It didn't take long for Yogi to figure out that he didn't need humans to push open doors. "I kept coming home and finding him on the sofa. He'd pushed open the living room door and made himself at home," she laughs.

But that's a small price to pay when he's made Daniel's life so much better.

"Yogi is fantastic," he says. "He wags his tail and just makes me feel happy!"

* To support Dogs for the Disabled visit www.dogsforthedisabled.org or ring 08700 776600.