Rescued Molly in race for hearing dog award

Molly, from Shipley, is one of three final nominees for the gong in the annual awards which are run by charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and recognise the work of the nation's hearing dogs.

Molly has been helping her 85-year-old owner Tony Higbed for eight years and in 2007 the pair won the Crufts' Friends for Life competition.

Mr Higbed said: "Molly was given away to some people as a Christmas present and they frightened her, so she hid and wouldn't come out. They gave her to the RSPCA where Hearing Dogs for Deaf People found her and trained her as a hearing dog.

"All the dogs chosen by Hearing Dogs for Deaf People do a fantastic job and I feel very grateful to them for rescuing Molly and giving her a new life with me as my hearing dog."

As Mr Higbed's hearing dog, Molly alerts him daily to household sounds and danger signals he cannot hear.

The awards. which are made up of three categories. will be held in London on October 11.