The special bond between a severely disabled Highland boy and his dog was recognised at Crufts last night.
After a public vote the little dog, called Miracle, won the Friends for Life award in a celebration of heartwarming stories of friendship in adversity.
The crossbreed was saved by Inverness woman Amanda Leask from a ship bound from Thailand to Vietnam, where he would have been served up for human consumption.
The pet has now bonded with her six-year-old son Kyle, who has cerebral palsy and autism.
She now has 40 dogs at her husky centre near Strathglass, and nine of them were saved from certain death in south-east Asia and Romania.
Miracle was on a shortlist of four pets vying for the top award at the Crufts Show.
A vote on the competition’s website decided which of the four should receive a cash prize for their owner to donate to charities of their choice.
Amanda has said she will divide the spoils between cerebral palsy, autism and animal welfare charities.
Mrs Leask said: “Miracle truly lives up to his name as it was only his spirited attempt to escape the truck that he had been herded on to, with 1,000 other dogs headed for slaughter, that led to his rescue.
“He was hanging out of the crate, strangling himself, when someone took a photo of him as evidence, assuming he was dead, but the flash of the camera made him open one eye.
“When the photo was posted online and I saw it, the rescue attempt began and we didn’t stop until we got him back to the UK.”
The dog is now helping in the campaign against the illegal meat trade.
Mrs Leask added: “Despite the fact that he has seen the worst of human nature, he adores people and is the most gentle and loving dog.
“He has such a close bond with Kyle, who cannot speak and who can struggle to communicate with people, but Miracle understands him and they are so close to one another.”