Herbie the Labradoodle was trained by Canine Partners he now provides assistance to Norah Fisher a local councillor for Tarring in Worthing. Norah has Rheumatoid Arthritis so Herbie provides invaluable support for her in her day-to-day life. He is trained to complete tasks such as activating pedestrian crossings, paying for goods at the checkout amongst a hundred other tasks. He has become a life line for Norah and has made a huge difference to her life.

Location: Worthing, Sussex

Bonnie is a Whippet/Staffie cross who was saved from death row at a local pound by Vicky Burn. Bonnie is now a registered Pets as Therapy dog and over the past three years has worked with and helped, patients with severe depression, lonely elderly people, adults with severe learning disabilities, dementia and deaf and/or blindness. She visits patients on a regular basis and has understandably become very popular. Bonnie has also been an inspiration to her owner Vicky after she helped her speedy recuperation following a kidney transplant.

Location: Grimsby, Yorkshire

Wesley is a miniature Poodle and has been working as a volunteer Pets as Therapy dog for over two years. During this time he's provided much needed therapy and support to critically ill patients in hospices and has become a caring companion to many elderly residents in the St John and Elizabeth hospices. Wesley was nominated by the staff who see the incredibly difference he makes to so many lives.

Location: Camden, London

Ajay has been a constant source of companionship and support to the Brown-Griffin family through some incredibly tough times. Ajay originally came to live with them as Tony's (the mother) seizure alert dog and would warn her before she suffered an epileptic fit. Soon after Ajay joined the family they discovered they were expecting a child with a potentially fatal heart condition. Ajay was present during the birth and stayed in hospital with the family, even sleeping by newborn Mimi's cot; he also offered constant support during the little girl's heart reconstruction surgery. After the birth Tony suffered catastrophic bleeds in her eyes and was registered blind. Ajay quickly became her guide dog, without any special training, as well as still fulfilling his previous role. Ajay has now retired due to hip dysplasia but is casting a watchful over Tony's new working dog Hetty.

Location: Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Carlos Parreira was nominated by his colleague at Little Dog Rescue. Carlos demonstrates a huge commitment to dog welfare and at only 15 years old has helped improve the quality of many dogs' lives. Carlos has been volunteering at the kennels for the past three years and has taken on caring for several elderly dogs. His commitment to the cause also saw him complete a bike ride from John O'Groats to Lands End for the rescue centre when he was 14. Carlos' dedication to animals is second to none and he gives up most of his spare time to help his four-legged friends.

Location: Woodley, Berkshire

Val Phillips was nominated because of her unfaltering work with Valgrays Border Collie and Animal rescue. She set up the charity 30 years ago from her home in Surrey and has worked hard to find homes from unwanted, abandoned and abused dogs ever since. Val has also extended her reach to Romania as she is now helping to rehome the country's street dogs to new and loving homes in the UK.

Location: Surrey

Amy Hornsby was nominated because of her amazing dedication to animal welfare that has seen her take on a small run down rescue with a poor reputation and transform it into Liverpool Dog Rescue. Amy has created a thriving rescue centre with a large rehoming rate - a task which has often seen her working seven days a week with no social life. She tirelessly ensures that her rescue dogs receive the best possible care . Amy often carries out assessments, dog walking, cleaning and grooming by herself. She has been described as a "stunning example of a young person with passion and drive!"

Location: Liverpool, Merseyside

Lee Montgomery has been nominated for her dedication to highlighting the condition Lethal White, a breeding defect used to describe dogs that are born deaf and blind. Lee became aware of the illness when an unwanted Lethal White puppy arrived at the rescue centre Many Tears in Carmarthenshire, and after she adopted the puppy she discovered the difficulties in finding someone to help her with training. She has since become a source of continued support and advice to others adopting Lethal Whites through her work at West Yorkshire Dog Rescue and has taken in many dogs suffering this defect.

Location: Huddersfield, West Yorkshire

Jo Crosby-Deakin founded K9 Solutions; a company devoted to developing a harmonious relationship between dogs and their owners, and has become a brilliant authority on developing a harmonious relationship between dogs and their owners. Jo works closely with dogs suffering from a number of conditions including separation anxiety, poor obedience and lack of socialisation and has helped rebuild many broken relationships between owners and their four-legged friends. Currently Jo is finalising the plans for the largest hydrotherapy pool in Essex and is set to work with overweight dogs and those with muscular issues to rebuild their strength.

Location: Southend-On-Sea, Essex

Izzy was nominated for saving the life of her diabetic owner's life, David Robinson, not once, but twice! On the first occasion she alerted David's wife Julie that something was wrong in the bathroom. After forcing her way into the room Julie found David unconscious on the floor, thankfully Izzy prevented an unimaginable situation and her instinct saved his life. The hairy hero then went onto show such dedication again when David had a hypoglycaemic attack in his sleep. Izzy is not a trained diabetic alert dog, she has quite simply become a little lifesaver with incredibly loyalty.

Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Blitzen was an unwanted rescue dog who was rehomed to a family and then went on to became a lifesaver for their11 year-old daughter. Blitzen was taken out for a walk on a regular route when the young girl slipped and banged her head knocking her unconscious. Her faithful friend refused to leave her side and it was this vigilance that helped the rescue teams find them as the torch lights reflected in Blitzen's eyes. The weather conditions were extremely cold so the dog's determination to stay by the young girl's side undoubtedly saved her life.

Location: Hayle, Cornwall

Tojo the Chihuahua was nominated after alerting his family to a fire whilst they were asleep. The family went to bed as normal, but were abruptly woken by Tojo barking, but it was a different bark as he sounded more agitated than usual. Once his owner was awake it soon became apparent that Tojo was alerting them to their summer house that was on fire. The whole family and dog managed to get past the hall window just before it was blown out. The family owe their lives to the barks of a little Chihuahua who raised the alarm.

Location: Mexborough, South Yorkshire

Ellie-May is a little Dachshund who saved her epileptic owner's life after she had a seizure whilst in the bath. Ellie-May's owner Yolande had been staying at a hotel at the time and Ellie ran around crying and barking and led staff to her side. Her quick thinking saved her owner from drowning that night. Yolande also suffered a seizure whilst on a walk, Ellie immediately ran back to the house to alert her husband. Ellie's ability to detect an imminent seizure and her outstanding way of finding help has proved to be life-saving.

Location: Llaneli, Carmarthenshire

Sammy is the only trained fire investigation dog in Wales and since he has been with South Wales Fire and Rescue Service he has investigated over 500 fires and seven murders. Sammy's finely tuned nose has proved invaluable and without him many investigations would have gone unsolved. He has also helped educate young children about the dangers of playing with fire via assisting at school workshops.

Location: Llantriant, Glamorgan

Zak is a member of the Lowland Search and Rescue team and his nomination came after he and his handler were called to help search for a 73 year-old man who went missing. The elderly man suffered from chronic health problems and Parkinson's disease and required medication to treat his condition, which he didn't have with him. The search in Hampshire lasted for three days and with the help of a strong easterly wind Zak had picked up the scent leading him to the gentleman who thankfully survived.

Location: Southampton

Kirby is a member of the Essex County Fire and Rescue and just four days after gaining his qualification was called to an incident where a house had collapsed following a gas explosion. In less than a minute after arriving o site Kirby had found a man buried in the rubble. He also rescued the family hamster too!

Location: Colchester, Essex

Barra is the only underwater sniffer dog in Scotland. He has been trained to search lochs, lakes and huge expanses of water for human bodies. Barra takes to the boat with his handler and they zigzag across the water whilst he sniffs out potential victims beneath the surface and alerting his handler with a bark when picking up a scent. Barra helps the team search large areas of water and is able to work faster than a human only search team. This dramatically decreases the waiting time for distressed family members of the missing people.

Location: Govan, Glasgow

Aman is a police dog for the Suffolk Police and last year displayed true heroics when he was stabbed multiple times by an armed man. The stabbing happened after Aman had been sent into challenge the man in line with his training and whilst holding onto the assailant's arm he received repeated stab wounds to his body, causing serious blood loss. The man also stabbed Aman's handler during the ensuing struggle. Despite both having significant injuries they both continued to assist their colleagues in the eventual restraint and disarming of the subject. Both survived the attack and continue to work together.

Location: Ipswich, Suffolk