Looking through the news here in England, I have been captivated by the stories of the dogs who helped in the search for humans trapped in the wreckage of their homes after their houses were destroyed by bombs. All were recipients of the Dickin Medal - the animal VC. In particular, it is the story of Beauty that captured my imagination. This wire-haired Fox Terrier was owned by Bill Barnett who was aPeople's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) superintendent during the Blitz.
Beauty accompanied him when he worked alongside a Civil Defence unit. On one assignment, she scratched at rubble with her paws. Not long afterwards, the team uncovered a cat buried under a table. In all, she saved 63 animals from being buried alive.
The Daily Mail carried a really interesting feature on the subject. Click here to read it.
The BBC has a slide show of the dogs involved - click here.
For more on the PDSA, which provides free veterinary services for the pets of needy owners in the UK, click here.
I had no idea this was going on so long ago.
ReplyDeleteReally good stuff.
Hi Aeloh,
ReplyDeleteWelcome - yes, amazing. I knew there were dogs but not one who specialised searching out pet animals - remarkable!
Laurie
Hi Laurie, missed this during yet another stultifyingly busy week at work.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible story... so Beauty keep quite a number of pets from ending up in whatever London's equivalent of the Dog Cemetery in Paris is... or does London have an equivalent ? I still have some more photos of the Dog Cemetery, will have to try to get around to posting them.
Oh, I love stories like this!
ReplyDelete