Karen Goodall, a veterinary nurse from Wakefield, lost four stone to fulfill her lifelong dream to compete at Crufts.

She will now appear at the world's biggest dog show next month at the NEC, Birmingham, with her Cocker Spaniel, Breeze.

Karen, aged 43, has had a difficult few years and found herself comfort eating after the loss of her sister to cancer and the death of her father. With her mother suffering from Alzheimers, she was struggling to come to terms with all that had happened to her.

Karen started competing in dog agility to lose the weight she had gained after the loss of her sister and father.

Karen commented: “Since l lost my sister and dad l put on a lot of weight, but by competing in agility and taking part in the training l have lost four stone and feel great. It helped me get out and meet friends; it really has given me something to look forward to each day.

"I'm enjoying life again and it's down to my dogs, agility and dog showing, alongside my wonderfully supportive husband Andrew, that I've been able to pick myself back up.”

Breeze was welcomed into the family after they had lost one of their dogs, Smokey, a nine year old Cocker Spaniel after a three year battle with meningitis.

Karen began competing in agility with her other dog Inca in 2009 before starting to train and show Breeze last year.

She added: “Breeze is my first ever show dog and competes as Samsonli Sapphire Girl. I didn't even think of showing her until someone I work with mentioned it to me. We started her off competing in agility and still hope to continue with the agility training as well as showing her. I didn't have any experience of showing and didn't know where to start, but my friend Tammy helped me learn how to groom her and gave me lots of advice on how to show Breeze.”

Karen will be showing 11 month old Breeze in the special puppy class at Crufts.