A simple camera flash helped save Miracle from the dog meat trade, but it was the Thai crossbreed’s remarkable bond with a severely disabled Scottish boy which secured it a top prize at the world’s most prestigious dog show last week.
“It was presumed that it was dead, and she presumed she was taking a picture of another dead dog,” said owner Amanda Leask, referring to a rescue worker who found Miracle two years ago. When she took the photo, “the flash caused it to open its eyes”.
“That’s when the rescue mission really started. It was lost in amongst 3,000 dogs in the equivalent of what was a cattle hold.”
After nine months recuperating at a Bangkok clinic, Miracle was taken in to the Leask family home in Strathglass, Scotland.
It was there that the former street dog would form a close relationship with Ms Leask’s six-year-old son Kyle, who has cerebral palsy and autism. The relationship was recognised last Sunday at the 2015 Crufts show in Birmingham, where Miracle beat nearly 200 other dogs to win the Friends for Life award.
The crossbreed had been snatched from the streets of Isan and loaded onto a truck with hundreds of other stolen dogs, all destined for the dog meat restaurants of Hanoi in Vietnam.
Luckily for Miracle, the truck carrying it to what would have been a slow and agonisingly painful death was intercepted by agents working for the Phuket-based Soi Dog Foundation, which has been fighting the illegal trade for the past four years.
The dogs were taken to a purpose-built shelter in the Northeast, and adopters were sought.
Ms Leask spotted Miracle’s photo shortly after it had been rescued on a Soi Dog Facebook post, and asked about adopting it.
Miracle is the latest of nine dogs from Thailand and Romania which she decided to adopt as companions for Kyle.
“They’ve both faced so much hardship in their lives, it’s like there’s an unspoken language between them,” Ms Leask said. “When Kyle gets upset because he can’t convey what he wants to, Miracle will go and lie at his side for Kyle to touch and stroke. Miracle seems to automatically know when Kyle needs him.
“If Kyle simply wants some attention, Miracle will go over and shower him with kisses. And it works the other way too. Kids can build up confidence in dogs where they seek solace, and Miracle gets this in abundance from Kyle.”
The Crufts Friends for Life award celebrates dogs that have earned the title of man’s best friend through bravery, support or companionship. This might include assistance dogs, service dogs or everyday companions who have helped their owners in remarkable ways.
The four finalists were invited to Crufts, where the winner was chosen by a public vote.
“When the award was being handed to Kyle by the host, as the host approached Kyle, Miracle, being extremely protective, came between the two of them and placed his paw on the host’s foot, as if to say, ‘That’s far enough, I don’t know you, and I’m protecting Kyle,’ ” said Martin Turner, Soi Dog’s volunteer media relations manager.
Miracle won £1,500 (about 72,800 baht) for his Crufts award, which Ms Leask said she would share between Soi Dog and the Autistic Society.