WATCH: Pups Named After Moray Rescuers
The day old German Shepherds were saved by SSE engineers Keith Hay and Bill Collie during a power cut in January.
Two power engineers who helped save a litter of new-born puppies have been reunited with the dogs, including two named after them in tribute.
The five German Shepherd pups, which were one day old, were at risk of freezing to death when the power supply to their farmhouse went off during storms which battered Scotland in early January.
But Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution (SSEPD) engineers Keith Hay and Bill Collie came to the rescue by providing a mobile electricity generator which the puppies' owners attached to a heat lamp to keep them warm.
Dog owners Geoff and Sharon Hutley, from Mulben in Moray, have now officially registered two of the pups with the Kennel Club as Keith Hay and Bill Collie as a tribute to the engineers' life-saving actions.
Mrs Hutley said: We woke up on the morning of the storm with no electricity and the house was freezing. We'd already lost four pups from the litter within hours of them being born the day before and the thought of losing any more was unbearable, but it was the reality we were faced with.
We had them all wrapped in blankets with a hot water bottle next to our wood burner, but it was still too cold and I really didn't think that they would survive much longer.
When my husband called SSEPD's customer services to report that the power was off we hadn't even thought about asking for help with the pups, but when the operator asked if we had any concerns, he mentioned the situation we were in.
The operator herself wasn't even sure what she could do, but she promised to speak to an engineer.''
The operator spoke to Bill Collie and after carrying out checks to ensure that all customers in the area were provided for, he and site manager Keith Hay arrived at the farm with a spare generator.
The first four puppies in the litter of nine are not thought to have died as a result of the cold.
Mr Collie said: I spoke to Geoff Hutley on the phone and I could hear how hopeless he felt the situation was for the remaining puppies.
"Initially Keith and I weren't sure how we could help, but when we checked and found we had a generator available we knew we had to get it to the farm before any more of the litter was lost.''
The eight-week-old puppies are now ready to go to their new homes, but Mr Collie and Mr Hay were invited to meet their canine namesakes at the farm before they left to join their new owners.
The 'paw-fect' way to say thanks.. from SSE Power Distribution on Vimeo.