__NOTOC__ The PDSA Gold Medal is an animal bravery award that acknowledges the bravery and devotion to duty of animals. It was created by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) in 2001, and is now recognised as the animal equivalent of the George Cross. The Gold Medal is considered as the civilian equivalent to PDSA's Dickin Medal for military animals. An animal can be awarded the PDSA Gold Medal if it assists in saving human or non-human life when its own life is in danger or through exceptional devotion to duty. The medal can also be awarded to animals in public service, such as

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

rescue dogs Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet that was previously owned by another party such as a person, shelter, or rescue organization. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters and rescue groups. Some or ...

, if the animal dies or suffers serious injury while carrying out its official duties in the face of armed and violent opposition. The first ceremony, in November 2002, saw the Gold medal awarded to three dogs, including Endal, an

assistance dog In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a prof ...

whose actions helped to save the life of his disabled owner. , the PDSA Gold Medal has been awarded to 29 different animals. All recipients were dogs until 2020, when a mine-sniffing African giant pouched rat named Magawa received the prize. The majority of recipients have been British. Non-British recipients include

Bamse ''Bamse – Världens starkaste björn'' () is a Swedish cartoon created by Rune Andréasson. The highly popular children's cartoon first emerged as a series of television short films as well as a weekly Comic strip formats#Half page, half-page ...

, who was Norwegian,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and Gage, both from New Zealand, Ajax, who was Spanish, and Magawa, who was Tanzanian.

Recipients

References

External links

People's Dispensary for Sick Animals websiteThe PDSA Animal Awards Programme
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pdsa Gold Medal George Cross Awards established in 2002 Awards to animals 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom

Recipients

See also

References

External links