Treo (c. 2001–2015) was 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 ...
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English Springer Spaniel crossbreed and a retired
Arms and Explosives Search dog with the
Royal Army Veterinary Corps. He was awarded 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 ...
(considered the equivalent of a
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 ...
for animals) in February 2010.
The military nominated Treo for the award in recognition of his help uncovering a number of
improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...
s (IED) during his time serving in
Helmand Province
Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...
, an insurgency hot spot, in 2008. Treo was the medal's 63rd recipient.
Early life
Treo was donated to the Army because of his general behaviour issues and inclination to snapping and growling at people. His former owners' hopes were that the Army would straighten him out. He began a 12-week training course at the
Defence Animal Centre after which he was deployed to Northern Ireland for three years with his first handler. When his first handler left the Army,
Sergeant
Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
Dave Heyhoe took over control of Treo.
Service in Afghanistan
In 2008 Treo and his handler Sergeant Heyhoe were deployed to
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 ...
, becoming one of 25 dogs supporting British troops there.
On 1 August 2008 Treo found an IED, called a daisy chain because of the way multiple explosive devices are wired together, concealed by
Taliban insurgents along the side of a road. In September 2008 he found a second daisy chain, both times saving the lives of British soldiers as well as civilians. His success at detecting IEDs did not go unnoticed by the insurgents, and intercepted radio traffic included conversations about "the black dog." He retired in August 2009 and was awarded the Dickin Medal in February 2010 at the
Imperial War Museum in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
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 ...
.
Later life
After seven years in the military, Treo retired to live at home with Heyhoe. His death was announced in October 2015 and was buried with his Dickin Medal and a Union Jack by Heyhoe.
See also
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Dogs in warfare
Dogs have a very long history in warfare, beginning in Domestication of the dog, ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, Courier, messengers, mercy dogs, and Tracking (dog), trackers, their uses have been ...
*
*
Bravehound
References
External links
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{{Dickin Medal
Detection dogs
British Army animals
2001 animal births
Individual dogs awarded the Dickin Medal
2015 animal deaths