'My assistance dog has given me my life back'

Ms Lamb said her assistance dog Sheldon gets her "out and about again"

A woman who became so depressed she could not leave her home said her assistance dog had "given her her life back".

Mary Lamb, 65, from Wirral, stopped going out after she was diagnosed with a degenerative muscle condition 16 years ago.

"People would think I was drunk," she said. "I was very wobbly. It was ever so upsetting so I just stayed in."

But she credited her assistance dog Sheldon giving her a new lease of life.

Ms Lamb said her assistance dog Sheldon is "an absolute legend"

Ms Lamb said she had become "very, very depressed" and was in "a very black hole" before she sought help from assistance dogs charity Dogs For Good.

The charity trains dogs to help adults and children with disabilities and autism, and adults with dementia.

After being matched with collie-Labrador crossbreed assistance dog, Yan, she said "life was made possible again".

"He got me out of my depression and we had a lovely life together until he retired at 10-and-a-half," she said.

Ms Lamb said she felt "totally lost again" until she was matched with Golden Retriever-Labrador crossbreed Sheldon who she said was "an absolute legend" and got her "out and about again".

Ms Lamb will take on The Three Peaks in a specially designed wheelchair in June

"He undresses me, he gets the post, he empties the washing machine, he helps to change the bed, opens and closes the doors, picks up stuff I drop.

"He does everything," Ms Lamb said.

"He is with me 24 hours a day and he gives me that confidence to go out and do things. He's amazing, and I'd be absolutely lost without him."

Ms Lamb is now taking on a challenge to climb The Three Peaks in a specially designed wheelchair to help raise £30,000 to sponsor an assistance dog for somebody else.

She will tackle Ben Nevis on 12 June, Scafell Pike on 13 June and Snowdon on 14 June, with help from a support team.

'Life-changing'

Ms Lamb said she wanted "to give somebody their life back" and for them "to feel the way I do".

"I was very, very low. These dogs saved my life," she said.

"These dogs are so powerful for what they do. They get you out of the house, they help you go out and talk to people.

"I can go anywhere and do anything now because of Sheldon - he is life-changing.

"That's what these dogs do. It's wonderful."