Sadie, (1996–2019), a black

Labrador Retriever The Labrador Retriever or simply Labrador or Lab is a British list of dog breeds, breed of water dog retriever gun dog. It was developed in the United Kingdom from St. John's water dogs imported from the Newfoundland Colony, colony of Newfoun ...

, was a recipient of the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

. She was awarded for detecting an explosive device outside the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

headquarters in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

in November 2005, and was awarded by Princess Alexandra on 6 February 2007. Her handler at the time of the action which resulted in the award was Lance Corporal Karen Yardley.

Military service

Trained in Leicestershire, Sadie served in Bosnia,

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and was part of the 102 Military Working Dog Support Unit of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) based in Sennelager, Germany. She has served for two years and has completed two tours of duty with her handler Lance Corporal Karen Yardly (female RAVC soldiers could serve on the front lines, unlike infantry up until 2020). Following her military service and the awarding of a Dickin Medal, she retired to live with her handler.

Dickin Medal

In November 2005 forces serving with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

's International Security Assistance Force were involved in two separate attacks. Sadie and her handler, L/Cpl Karen Yardley, were deployed to search for explosive devices outside the

headquarters in

following a suicide attack. Sadie picked up the scent of a second device through a thick concrete wall, giving disposal experts the opportunity to defuse the bomb which was a pressure cooker bomb—a pressure cooker filled with TNT. The bomb had been covered with sandbags, in order to kill and injure rescue workers following the suicide attack. For her actions, Sadie was awarded the Dickin Medal. Awarded by the

People's Dispensary for Sick Animals The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) is the UK's leading veterinary Charitable organization, charity, carrying out more than one million free veterinary consultations a year. It was founded in 1917 by Maria Dickin to provide care f ...

, it is considered to be the animal's

. Sadie's Dickin Award citation reads as follows: "Sadie gave a positive indication near a concrete blast wall and multinational personnel were moved to a safe distance. At the site of Sadie's indication, bomb disposal operators later made safe an explosive device. The bomb was designed to inflict maximum injury." Sadie became the 61st recipient of the medal, which she received from Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra on 6 February 2007 in a ceremony at the Imperial War Museum in London, England. Marilyn Rydström, of the PDSA, said of Sadie's award; "The Dickin Medal is the highest award any animal can receive for bravery in the line of duty and Sadie is a very worthy recipient". The Dickin Medal is often referred to as the animal equivalent of the

. At a ceremony to commemorate the restoration of the PDSA's Ilford Animal Cemetery in December 2007, Sadie attended with other recent winners of the Dickin Medal as the cemetery is the final resting place of several previous medallists.

Notes

External links

PDSA Dickin Medal, including "Roll of Honor" PDF

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadie (Dog) 1996 animal births 2019 animal deaths Individual dogs Detection dogs British Army animals Recipients of the Dickin Medal British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Labrador Retriever

Military service

Dickin Medal

See also

Notes

External links