Many of us keep dogs as a pet. However, some keep them as a working companion; for example, therapy dogs, guide dogs, police dogs, and even military working dogs. Aside from them being your daily best friend, they could also provide serious work to make people’s lives easier.
Being a military working dog is no easy task.
Just like any police or military training that a person could take, dogs experience the same amount of difficulty as they partake in the training. They have different kinds of tasks in the operation like working as detectors, trackers, sentries, and being part of the search and rescue team.
All of these jobs mean that they have to risk their very lives to save others. They step in the battlefield, into the shower of bullets, and save their human comrades from death. These dogs deserve to be recognized, especially for their very heroic acts.
PDSA is responsible for handing out awards for these hero animals.
People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) is one of the leading veterinary charity in the U.K. They are currently operating over forty-eight pet hospitals in the country, and they provide low cost and free veterinary care for the pets who need them the most.
Furthermore, they are responsible for giving the PDSA Dickin Award, the highest award that any animal could get for their heroic actions, most especially those involved in the military. The most recent awardee for this medal is a dog named Kuno, who was given the PDSA Dickin Medal in November 2020.
This dog turned the tide of the battle during an operation.
Kuno is a three-year-old German Shepherd who served as a Military Working Dog for the military forces in the U.K. He is a hard-working and clever dog, and his handler thinks so too! The dog has completed his 16 training sessions in a span of five months and then worked as an explosive detector, and he was taught to attack enemies if ordered to do so.
In May 2019, the force was dispatched on a mission to neutralize a well-armed and aggressive enemy threat. The military was cornered due to a sudden ambush by the enemy and they were frozen on the spot. Kuno ran amidst the open fire, then rushed onto the insurgent and pinned him on the ground. It enabled to let the unit to successfully neutralize the enemy and complete its mission.
However, later did they know that Kuno had been shot.
After the battle, the handler and the rest of the unit found out that Kuno had been shot. It seemed that in the middle of the struggle, stray bullets entered his right thigh as well as his left paw, rendering him immobile. Kuno was given immediate first aid and then evacuated along with the rest of the assault force.
When they got back to the U.K., the military rushed Kuno to the hospital. Fortunately, he could still survive; however, his hind legs had to be amputated and be replaced with prosthetics. They had to pull off Kuno from the force, let him retire to live a normal life as a dog.
With his efforts recognized, he was given the PDSA medal
After more than a year following their mission in Al Qaeda, in November 2020, Kuno was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal. He wore it around his neck with great pride, and surely the rest of the force thinks that his well-deserving contribution to them, is a massive thing to be proud of. Now, he’s enjoying his life along with his loving family.
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