Buzz
In the midst of World War II, Maria Dickin, the founder of the veterinary charity People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), was profoundly moved by the suffering of animals in wartime, which led her to establish the PDSA Dickin Medal.
Similar to the Victoria Cross for humans, this bronze medallion honors remarkable bravery and is recognized globally as the highest accolade any animal can receive for their courage in military conflicts. The prestigious medal, inscribed with 'We Also Serve,' can also be awarded to police dogs, horses, and guide dogs for heroic acts on the civilian front.
10. Winkie
On February 23, 1942, a Beaufort bomber and its crew found themselves in grave danger. While returning from a World War II mission over Norway, enemy fire caused severe damage to the aircraft.
Although the crew survived both the attack and the emergency crash landing in the ocean, their survival prospects were bleak. They were stranded in the freezing waters of the North Sea, far from the nearest RAF base.
Realizing their radio was out of order, the desperate crew placed their last hope in a carrier pigeon named Winkie. The blue chequered hen was released and flew back home under challenging conditions, covering 200 kilometers (120 miles) across the North Sea.
When her owner discovered the exhausted pigeon in her loft in Broughty Ferry, the bird was coated in oil and carried no message. Nonetheless, this did not stop the RAF from launching a rescue operation.
By calculating the time the plane crashed, the wind direction, the time of Winkie's arrival, and how the oil affected her speed, the bomber's location was pinpointed. The crew was rescued in just 15 minutes.
Had it not been for the heroic flight of their carrier pigeon, the men would almost certainly have perished. A year later, Winkie became the first animal to be awarded the Dickin Medal for her role in the rescue.
9. Diesel
One of the most heartbreaking recipients of the Dickin Medal is Diesel, a French police dog. Just five days after the tragic 2015 Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed, Diesel, a Belgian shepherd, was part of the mission to capture the suspected mastermind behind the massacre.
Police believed the suspect was hiding in an apartment in a northern Paris suburb. During the operation, the seven-year-old Diesel was sent in to scout the area.
She cleared the first room. However, as soon as she entered the next one, her handler saw her charge forward as if she had detected someone. The dog's sudden sprint triggered gunfire from inside the room. Tragically, Diesel was shot and died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The suspected terrorist, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was also killed in the raid. Upon news of Diesel's death, she was mourned by people both within and outside of France. In a gesture of solidarity, Russia sent France a puppy, a male German shepherd named Dobrynya. The PDSA posthumously awarded Diesel the Dickin Medal in December 2015.
8. Simon
During the Chinese civil war in 1949, a British Navy ship was involved in what became known as the Yangtze Incident. The HMS Amethyst was trapped in a siege so severe that it resulted in the deaths of 17 Marines and left the ship's cat, Simon, injured.
Despite being wounded by shrapnel, Simon continued to perform two crucial services, ultimately earning the rank of Able Seaman and becoming the only cat ever to be awarded the Dickin Medal.
During the 101-day siege, rats posed a serious threat to the food supplies aboard the HMS Amethyst. However, Simon saved the day by eliminating the rodents. Many of the sailors found comfort in his presence, which lifted their spirits after witnessing the tragic deaths of their comrades.
When the ship finally returned to Plymouth on November 1, 1949, Simon was celebrated as a hero. Sadly, he passed away three weeks later while still in quarantine. He was laid to rest at the PDSA Animal Cemetery in Essex with full military honors.
7. Paddy
Paddy, the pigeon, hailed from Ireland. Raised in Carnlough, he was trained for a military role in the RAF, following the footsteps of many pigeons donated to the service. Paddy's exceptional flying abilities earned him a transfer to the US Army during World War II, where he assisted with the pivotal Normandy landings.
During the D-Day operations in June 1944, Paddy was entrusted with a vital message detailing the progress of the Allied forces. Carrying the crucial dispatch, the skilled pigeon successfully avoided German falcons and navigated through harsh weather to deliver the message.
Paddy successfully delivered the message, achieving the fastest time among all the pigeons on the same mission. For his incredible 370-kilometer (230 mi) journey from Normandy to England in under five hours, he was awarded the Dickin Medal.
After the war, Paddy returned as the sole recipient from Northern Ireland to receive this prestigious honor. He went back to Carnlough, where he lived out a peaceful life until his death in 1954. His memorial can still be visited today in Carnlough Harbor.
6. Rifleman Khan
Khan was a German shepherd who served as an explosive sniffer dog during WWII, earning the rank of rifleman.
Khan and his handler, Lance Corporal Jimmy Muldoon, served with the 6th Battalion (the Scottish Rifles) to remove Nazi forces from Walcheren Island and South Beveland.
While under heavy enemy fire, Muldoon’s boat capsized, throwing both him and Khan into the water. Khan managed to dog-paddle safely to shore, but Muldoon, unable to swim, was in serious danger.
Recognizing his handler’s peril, Khan returned despite the ongoing gunfire. The brave dog managed to pull Muldoon to safety. For his incredible courage, Khan was awarded the Dickin Medal in 1944.
Both Khan and Muldoon survived the remainder of the war. The German shepherd was returned to the Railton family, but when the pair was asked to lead a group of Dickin Medal recipients at a dog show, Muldoon and Khan were reunited. Witnessing their bond, Harry Railton allowed Muldoon to bring Khan home for good. From then on, they were inseparable.
5. Warrior
Warrior's tale is one of a kind in the history of the Dickin Medal. Known as 'the horse the Germans couldn’t kill,' he carried a general into some of the fiercest battles of World War I.
When Warrior arrived on the Western Front in 1914, it was clear his role would be to serve on the front lines for the entire duration of the war. He endured this for four years, surviving being trapped in burning stables, machine gun fire, mortar blasts, and being buried under rubble while struggling in thick mud.
After the war ended, Warrior returned to the Isle of Wight to live with the Seely family until he passed away at the age of 32. Although his heroism predated the creation of the Dickin Medal, his bravery was never forgotten.
In 2014, Warrior made history as the first warhorse to receive the Dickin Medal. He was also the first recipient from World War I and remains the only animal to receive an honorary Dickin Medal, awarded in honor of all the animals who served during the war.
4. Lucca
Lucca, the first U.S. military dog to earn this prestigious European honor, was a bomb-sniffing German shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix. She served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
Throughout her time in the Marine Corps, Lucca led 400 patrols and never allowed a single soldier to be lost to an explosion during any of them. However, during her final patrol in Afghanistan in 2012, after detecting a makeshift bomb, a second one exploded underneath her.
Despite the force of the explosion, Lucca survived, although she suffered severe injuries and burns. Her handler quickly carried her to the safety of nearby trees, applied a tourniquet to her mangled leg, and called for an emergency medevac.
Though Lucca received immediate, life-saving treatment, the damage to her front left leg was so extensive that amputation was the only option. This marked the end of her active duty service as a sniffer dog.
Throughout her career, Lucca successfully identified nearly 40 improvised explosive devices. She was inducted into the elite Dickin Medal fraternity in 2016, recognized for saving countless lives during her service.
3. Judy
Judy, a purebred English pointer, served as the mascot aboard the HMS Grasshopper. In 1942, she was on the ship when it narrowly escaped Singapore as the city fell to Japanese forces. Just as the ship neared safe waters, enemy planes bombarded the Grasshopper, leaving the survivors stranded on a nearby island.
After two days without food and water, it was Judy who managed to dig up a freshwater spring from the sand. But her true suffering began when she and the crew were captured after they unknowingly wandered into a Japanese village.
For nearly four years, Judy endured imprisonment in harsh camps, starving and receiving brutal beatings from Japanese guards. Her only crime was attacking them whenever they harmed a fellow prisoner.
The brutal guards resorted to using rifle butts to beat the dog, though they were not permitted to kill her. Judy was officially designated POW 81A by a drunken camp commander, which ultimately spared her life from execution.
She survived her second shipwreck when she and other POWs were loaded onto the SS Van Warwyck, which had sunk and been recaptured. During the harrowing ordeal, Judy helped several men reach the shore.
In 1946, Judy was awarded the Dickin Medal for her unwavering courage in protecting the prisoners until their liberation in 1945, and for lifting their spirits through it all. Sadly, the brave dog succumbed to cancer four years later, at the age of 13. She was laid to rest in a specially made RAF jacket.
2. Roselle
On the day of the 9/11 attacks, Michael Hingson was on the 78th floor of the North Tower as it burned. While the situation was life-threatening for anyone, Hingson, who was blind, relied solely on his guide dog, Roselle, to navigate through the chaos.
The yellow Labrador guided her owner, along with 30 other people, down over 1,000 steps before leading Hingson to safety in a subway station. Even as the South Tower collapsed while they were still exiting the North Tower, Roselle stayed focused on her task, undeterred by the noise and debris that surrounded them.
Roselle went on to earn the prestigious American Hero Dog of the Year Award in 2011 and was jointly honored with a Dickin Medal for her outstanding service under challenging conditions. She shared this recognition with another guide dog, Salty, who also helped rescue her owner from the doomed towers. Both dogs were later acknowledged by the British Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.
1. Gander
Gander soon proved that he was more than just a good luck charm for his unit. In 1941, when the Royal Rifles received orders to defend Hong Kong Island from the Japanese in World War II, Gander accompanied the troops and quickly demonstrated his courage in battle.
Gander's bravery in the face of war marked him as a true hero, surpassing the role of mascot to become an invaluable member of the Royal Rifles.
On two occasions, Gander fiercely defended his comrades. The first attack occurred when Japanese forces landed on the island’s beach, and the second happened when Gander drove off an enemy patrol that got too close to a group of wounded Canadian soldiers.
A third act of valor would cost Gander his life. During the Battle of Lye Mun, a grenade fell near a group of infantrymen. Unable to escape due to heavy enemy fire, the soldiers were trapped. Gander, showing unparalleled bravery, seized the grenade in his mouth and moved it away from the men.
Tragically, the grenade detonated and Gander died instantly. In 2000, his courage was recognized when he became the first animal in nearly six decades, and the first from Canada, to be awarded the Dickin Medal.
