A Coupar Angus man has showered praise on two heroes who plucked his much-loved pet from a raging torrent.
Buddy the labrador fell into the churning waters of the River Braan during an outing to the picturesque Hermitage woodlands near Dunkeld.
As horrified owners Stuart Robbie and fiance Kerri Thomson looked on, the six-year-old appeared to be swept away.
However, his plight was spotted by other visitors and two young men came to his rescue, plunging into the water to pull him to safety.
As Stuart and Kerri made their way down the banks with heavy hearts, they found Buddy’s saviour with a firm hold of the dog as his friend pulled the frightened canine from the water.
Emotional and hugely thankful, Stuart (24) offered his thanks and attempted to offer the rescuers a reward, only to have them reply that it was not necessary.
“I shook the hand of the guy who had been in the water and he told me his name was Simon,” said Stuart, a bus driver with Stagecoach. “He wouldn’t hear of a gift, though, and he just said that he had a dog too and knew how important Buddy would be to us.
“He and his friend just walked away, soaking wet, and I didn’t see them again or really get a chance to thank them properly for what they did.”
Stuart said he, Kerri and Buddy had been making the best of the weekend’s good weather with a walk around the stunning woodlands when the labrador lost his footing.
“I know we should have had him on a lead, but we didn’t and he’d wandered a short distance from us when we saw him slip into the water. He fell in just above the waterfall, where the water was really fast moving, and at one point we really did fear that he was gone.
“Thankfully these two young men spotted him and one went out on to the rocks and then lowered himself into the water to rescue him. He had one arm around the rocks and another around Buddy as his friend helped them both from the water.”
Stuart added, “I can’t thank them enough. Buddy is a part of our family and I don’t know what we would have done if we’d lost him.
“I asked around after they’d left and I was told they are regular visitors to the Hermitage, so they must be local. I just want to be able to say thank you properly.”