Sheila was a dog who received the

Dickin Medal The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the United Kingdom by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in World War II. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried ...

in 1945 from 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 ...

for bravery in service during the Second World War. She is the first non-military dog to have received the medal, which was later sold at auction alongside the medals of her owner, John Dagg, for £25,300 by

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

Dickin medal

On 16 December 1944, a

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

from the U.S. Eighth Air Force carrying a full payload of bombs, crashed into the

Cheviot Hills The Cheviot Hills (), or sometimes The Cheviots, are a range of uplands straddling the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. The English section is within the Northumberland National Park. The range includes ...

on the border between England and Scotland. Two local shepherds, John Dagg and Frank Moscrop headed up the mountainside with Dagg's

sheepdog A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and con ...

Sheila to investigate and see if there was anything they could do to help. The ongoing blizzard reduced the visibility on the mountainside to the bare minimum and the duo had to rely on Sheila to track down the aircraft. She tracked four of the airmen who were in a nearby crevice to escape the weather, and took the two shepherds to their location. Together they led the airmen back down to their cottage, arriving as the bombs on the B-17 detonated. Because of their actions, Lt George Kyle, Sgt Howard Delaney, Sgt George Smith and Sgt Joel Berly survived the crash. For the rescue of the airmen, Sheila was awarded the

by the

. It 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 ...

. It was the first time that the medal had been awarded to a non-military dog, this time a

search and rescue dog A search-and-rescue (SAR) dog is a dog trained to respond to crime scenes, accidents, missing persons events, as well as Natural disaster, natural or Disaster, man-made disasters. These dogs detect human scent, which is a distinct odor of skin f ...

. Meanwhile, Dagg was given the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

. One of Sheila's puppies, Tibbie, was later sent to the family of Sgt Frank Turner who did not survive the crash on the mountain. A film called ''To The Border Bred'' was later produced which told the story of Sheila and followed Tibbie as she travelled to

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. The two medals, along with Dagg's British Empire Medal and

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

medals and newspaper clippings about the crash, were sold by

auction house An auction house is a business establishment that facilitates the buying and selling of assets, such as works of art and collectibles. Overview The auction house is the physical facility where the objects are catalogued, displayed, and presented ...

on 13 December 2005 for £25,300 (ca. $40,488.00 American dollars).

Notes

References

* * {{Dickin Medal Individual dogs Recipients of the Dickin Medal

Dickin medal

See also

Notes

References