(Picture: Robert Parry-Jones/Trinity Mirror)

We should know by now that pets can have a huge impact on your mental health.

But in case you needed more convincing of the power of having an animal by your side, take note of Michaela Field, who says her Saluki greyhound, Nicky, prevented her from taking her own life.

Michaela, 51, was struggling with the effects of living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, arthritis, post-traumatic stress disorder, claustrophobia, and agoraphobia.

Things had become to feel like too much, and Michaela felt she couldn’t take any more.


She says that she was sitting on her sofa ready to end her life when Nicky, her three-legged greyhound, gave her a kick.



‘Suddenly he kicked my arm really hard and it shocked me out of the moment – he’s never done it before or since,’ Michaela told Daily Post Wales.

‘I literally turned to give him a rollicking because it hurt – he’s not a little boy – then I realised what had happened.

‘He’s got this way of looking at you where he’s not just looking into your eyes, he’s looking into the very heart of you.

‘I realised the one thing I couldn’t do was leave him behind. That’s the only thing that turned my head back round.’

The kick jolted Michaela out of her thoughts. Nicky’s kick stopped Michaela in her tracks and urged her to contact Mind, which saved her life.

‘I was in a very, very dark place, stuck in a horrible place of not being able to go out or stay in,’ said Michaela. ‘I was lucky if I was getting an hour’s sleep a week. The PTSD went into overdrive and I started having panic attacks.

(Picture: Robert Parry-Jones/Trinity Mirror)

‘I thought if this is all that’s left, I can’t deal with it anymore.’

Michaela got in touch with counselor Sarah Blay, who suggested using Nicky as the motivation to keep going. Nicky became Michaela’s assistance dog, despite having no formal training, helping her with panic attacks and depression.

She now hopes to recognise his impact with a nomination in the Man’s Best Friend category in the Friends for Life awards at Crufts.

Michaela and Nicky first met six years ago, just two days after the dog had his leg removed following a car accident.

‘I’d never seen a sadder looking little character – he had the most hangdog expression you’ve ever seen,’ says Michaela. ‘But he walked up the pathway and into my house almost as if he’d lived here before.

‘I didn’t quite realise just how much he’d got to me.

‘He’s just been the most inspirational dog throughout the amount of time that I’ve had him.

‘I’ve fostered a lot of dogs over the years but this guy walked into my house and into my heart.



‘I’m very proud of him, I owe him my life.

‘He has never let his disability stop him which is an important lesson I am learning.Thanks to him, I am now becoming a PTSD survivor.’

Need support? Contact the Samaritans For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

MORE: Thank you, antidepressants, for helping me keep my sh*t together

MORE: We talk sport, mental health and Harlequins on this week’s Mentally Yours

MORE: 5 physical symptoms you may not realise are a sign of depression

Advertisement Advertisement