A costly medal for a hero dog!!
Rip assisting in the rescue of a Blitz bomb victim!!
I came across an interesting story which told of a dog named Rip. Rip was a stray dog that was found homeless and starving after a bad air raid in London during World War II. The dog was found and adopted by Air Raid Precaution Warden E. King and became an unofficial rescue dog that worked along side of King looking for survivors of the German bombings in England. In the Battle of London, Rip located more than 100 air raid victims. Because Rip was so successful at what he did, the military began training dogs to trace casualty victims towards the end of the war.
The Dickin Medal, Britain’s highest honor for animals, was awarded to Rip for his bravery and valour that he showed throughout the war. Rip was identified by the many who were saved by the never ending scratching they heard when he had identified someone beneath the rubble. The sound of that dog scratching brought many hope that they would be saved and they were. The remarkable thing about this dog is that he was never trained to be a search and rescue dog. He wasn’t bred for it either. He was a simple mongrel terrier who had the ability to perform miracles and for the many people he saved, he was just that….a miracle.
The medal that Rip was awarded was worn by the dog until he passed away in 1948. At a recent auction held in England, the medal was sold for 24,250 pounds or about $35,700 in American dollars. I think that medal means a whole lot more than just money, it represents what is good about all of the dogs we love. I hope the person who bought the medal appreciates what it truly meant about the dog who earned it and wore it.
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