TWO dogs belonging to cancer sufferer Nicole Dryburgh have been shortlisted in a national competition.

Molly and Daizy have been chosen in the hero dog category for an awards scheme launched by the Dogs’ Trust.

The awards are aimed at recognising how animals enhance the lives of their owners, and Nicole, who is blind and confined to a wheelchair, decided to nominate her companions in recognition of the support they give her.

She said: “Molly and Daizy are a cross between a jack russell and a cavalier King Charles spaniel.

“They are my most prized possessions. They are always sitting on my lap. Molly is six-and-a-half and is quite calm and doesn’t like noise. Daizy is three years old and is absolutely barking mad. She is black and white and Molly is brown and white. We live really close to the beach, so they love to go there. I miss them a lot when I have to stay in hospital.”

There are five categories for the competition; quality of life, hero dog, lifetime achievement, triumph over adversity and the Pickles Award – for any dog which has found buried treasure, foiled a robbery or tracked down a missing person.

Nicole said: “I have just found out that they have been shortlisted for the hero dog category, and there are four other dogs in their category.

“We – including the dogs – are going to an awards ceremony on February 6, where we’ll find out if they’ve won. I am so excited.”

The winners will be chosen by a panel of judges and the awards will be presented by celebrity guests and supporters at London’s Guildhall on February 6.

Nicole’s autobiography, The Way I See It, will be launched at Whitstable’s Horsebridge Centre tonight.