A lamb rejected by its mother has adopted a 15-stone St Bernard as its best friend and surrogate mother.
Bruce the Hebridean sheep follows Dileas the gentle giant everywhere – to the astonishment of owners Catriona and David Last.
Mrs Last, who runs a pub and campside in Wester Ross, said: “We were surprised. When you take in a lamb you don’t think of any more than getting it to survive. He was such a wee thing, he could fit in your hand. We didn’t think he was going to survive. But he did and they became inseparable.’
Bruce, who is completely black with little horns, was born in April, but had a troubled start.
Mother-of-five Mrs Last said: “His mother basically just abandoned him. We had to take him in and bottle-feed him. After that he just became a pet and never went back.
“Initially he lived indoors, then in the shed. At one point we thought about putting him with the dog but thought no – not realising what was going to happen.”
But Bruce took matters into his own hooves, shadowing brown and white Dileas – whose name means faithful in Gaelic – wherever he went.
“Bruce was constantly following Dileas about, and Dileas was quite happy with it,” Mrs Last added.
Not long before the lamb was born, another family pet Sporran, a Cairn terrier, died aged 16.
Mrs Last, 36, believes Dileas may have taken to the lamb partly because he was black like Sporran and therefore reminded him of the old playmate he missed.
She added: “They run around in circles together. Dileas does this thing where he bounces on all four paws at once and Bruce tries to copy him.
“Outside they would sleep together, Dileas lying in the sun and Bruce snuggling in, just as if it was his mother.”
Mrs Last runs the Fuaran Bar and Port a Bhaigh campsite in Altandhu with husband David, 40, and her brother Andrew Wilson, 37.
Bruce has now spent time in the field over the road from the pub with the couple’s 108 other sheep in order to experience a taste of life with his own kind – but his bond with the St Bernard is strong as ever.
Mrs Last said: “Dileas goes to see him every day and Bruce comes to the fence. Dileas is a gentle giant, he’s loveable and a real hit with the tourists and he’s great with children. Bruce is playful and affectionate and he loves being tickled under the chin.
“Bruce definitely looks on Dileas as a surrogate parent.”