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 ]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 ...
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 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 ...
.
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 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 ...
.
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.
See also
* List of Labrador Retrievers
* List of individual dogs
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