Amazing feats and mutt-related miracles

From the young man defying the odds, to a dog that just wants an adventure. Fiona tells us about the different forms of inspiration

We are on alert here because Snuffy is missing. Wiry and grey-haired the tiny terrier has not been seen for at least 24 hours.

For his devoted owner it is most worrying. For other owners of beloved pets, it is a case of “there but for the Grace of God…”

Emails wing their way into inboxes. Texts ping on mobile screens. Neighbours are urged to be on alert.

Having a village internet contact list is a good way of dispensing information. Of involving the community when things need attention. So we keep our eyes peeled for a wee grey bundle rootling about in hedges. We listen for unfamiliar barks at back doors.

Happily, my own two MacNaughties do not wander too far these days.

Then they are getting on in years and I imagine they must be starting to prefer the comfort of the cushion to the call of the wild. These are famous last words, of course.

I write this on the train coming back from working in Edinburgh. But by the time I get home my two dogs may well be haring down some country lane in hot pursuit of a pheasant.

Let us hope not. Let us pray that wherever Barra and Rummie are, a collar and lead of some sort are involved. In the meantime, I have been in the edit-suite working on a film.

It’s a bit of a tear-jerker.

A story of a man who doctors said would probably not live beyond the age of two.

A boy who is now a 28-year-old man. A man who is breaking world records.

Stuart Jamieson was born with spinabifida. He had half a ribcage and his parents were told he would never walk, or even sit up.

Incredibly, Stuart is now a champion power lifter, competing against other able-bodied sportsmen.

His latest trophy was won in a strongman competition in Moscow.

There in Russia, the determined Scotsman lifted five times his weight. A staggering 286 kilos. That’s the equivalent of three large men or57 bags of potatoes...

Which is no mean feat when you are barely 60 kilos yourself.

Stuart credits his mum for some of his weightlifting success.

For not wrapping him in cotton wool when he was young – and for encouraging him to push himself.

Carol says she was just being a mum. One who wanted the best for her son. And we want the best for Snuffy. But, like Stuart’s story, his also has a happy ending.

I get home to find the wee dog is back with his owner. Snuffy is safe, albeit covered in mud. He is also ravenous–and contrite. And he knows he has been naughty, because he looks so sheepish.

Which may be the wrong word to use. Let us hope he was nowhere near the things.

Meanwhile, Stuart, your story is inspirational. So is your ambition to be able to lift five and a half times your weight. Go for it, superman, go for it.