When Sarah Bowyer and her husband James found out they were expecting a baby together, they couldn't have been more excited.
Then one evening, Sarah, 39, unexpectedly collapsed at home and an emergency ultrasound confirmed their worst fear.
A ruptured ectopic pregnancy meant they lost their baby and couldn't conceive naturally again.
Months later, fate brought a tiny puppy into their lives and Labrador Eric helped Sarah overcome the hardest hurdles.
Now, Sarah couldn't be prouder to share her story ahead of their agility competition at Crufts 2022.
Speaking to The Mirror, Sarah, from Cheshire, said: "I've always felt Eric filled a hole left by the baby that wasn't meant to be. He is my soul dog - you only get one of those in your lifetime and you can't replace them."
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In July 2016, Sarah was 10-weeks pregnant at home, getting ready to go to a friend's barbecue, when she doubled over in agonising pain and collapsed on the floor.
"James came home from work and found me sat in the shower," she said.
James took her straight to A&E but medics couldn't figure out what was wrong.
"They told me my baby was fine, then the following morning, when James had left the hospital, they did an ultrasound and found a litre and a half of blood in my uterus," Sarah explained.
"They had to operate immediately. If it had been spotted a few days later, I would have died."
Sarah suffered an ectopic pregnancy that had ruptured, and was advised not to conceive naturally again as the risks were too high.
"I have two children from a previous marriage so I wasn't eligible for IVF and couldn't afford to go private," she explained.
"When you go through something like that, you try and find the mechanism to cope."
A couple of months later, Sarah found her purpose when a tiny red Labrador puppy jumped onto her lap.
"He had little white toes and put his paws on my knee and tried to lick my face. It was love at first sight," Sarah said.
"We had an instant bond. He has been my shadow since day one and I've never clicked with a dog like I have him."
Sarah says Eric was the perfect thing to "consume all the time and love" they had left to give.
"I could never wish for a better dog. He gave me closure," she said.
"I haven't fallen pregnant since and I have come to accept it's not meant to be.
"Eric has completed our family and we no longer feel something is missing."
Recently, Sarah discovered that Eric had been conceived on the same exact day she lost her baby.
"It got me thinking maybe Eric was sent to us as a sort of replacement. It feels like fate," Sarah said.
"He's been my rock through lots of tough times over the last five years.
"I don't know where we would be without his unconditional love and seemingly mind-reading capabilities, knowing exactly where to be when."
When Eric hit his teen years, he began wrecking havoc at home and chewing carpets and banisters.
His puppy trainer advised an outlet for his energy, so Sarah started agility training for fun.
"Eric had a natural ability and took to it like a duck to water. It tired him out mentally like nothing else could," she explained.
Together, the pair channelled their time and energy into something positive, and Eric began competing in small dog clubs, before qualifying for Discover Dogs in 2019.
Last year, the pair worked incredibly hard and set themselves a monumental challenge - to qualify for Crufts 2022.
"It was always a dream of mine and I cried when we qualified. It was the best feeling," Sarah said.
On Friday 11 March, Eric will be competing in Agility and Sarah is so excited.
She said: "We are going to go out there and give it everything, have fun and try not to throw up - me, of course!"
Sarah says their agility journey has helped them through the hardest of times, and even encouraged her and James to set up a family business, SGN Agility Products.
"Everything that has come with Eric has been unexpected but amazing," Sarah said.
"He is proof that you can't give up when something horrible happens."
You can watch Eric compete in Agility at Crufts on Friday morning and catch behind-the-scenes on his Instagram account @supergingerninja.
Do you have a dog story to share? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
