Because of his exceptional courage last year during an operation targeting an Al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan, Kuno the dog will receive Britain’s highest military honor. A feat that has also unfortunately cost him a leg.
Kuno , a Belgian Malinois Shepherd who served in the British Armed Forces , will be awarded the Dickins PDSA Medal at a virtual ceremony to be held next November, Insider reports. The Dickins Medal is the highest honor bestowed on military personnel in the United Kingdom. The PDSA “version” is reserved for animals.
????? Retired military dog Kuno is to be awarded the @PDSA_HQ Dickin Medal after he was wounded in action while heroically saving the lives of British Forces fighting Al Qaeda.
Read more about it here: https://t.co/9jrf6ZgoOI pic.twitter.com/dR2hPszzIS
– Ministry of Defense ???????? (@DefenceHQ) August 29, 2020
In 2019, the dog in question was accompanying a unit of the Royal Navy’s special forces , the Special Boat Service , as well as soldiers from the Afghan Regular Army , in a raid against Al Qaeda . The target was a heavily defended terrorist organization encampment.
The insurgents applied heavy fire on the British military and their allies. Grenade and machine gun fire halted their advance. This is where Kuno came into action; he rushed towards the enemy shooters, biting one of them in the arm and pinning him to the ground . Thanks to his decisive intervention , his human comrades were able to regain the initiative and respond effectively.
The dog’s heroic act saved the lives of the British soldiers, but the quadruped was hit by several machine gun bullets in the rear legs . Evacuated, then taken care of by veterinarians of the armed forces, he lost the use of one of his limbs, which had to be amputated . Kuno , however, received a prosthesis and was able to resume running.
Read also: Each year, an 80-year-old woman and her disabled dog undertake a journey of around 1,000 kilometers on horseback
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