February 6, 2007

A brave dog of war with a nose for trouble was awarded the animal Victoria Cross today after saving the lives of hundreds of soldiers in Afghanistan.

Sadie, a nine-year-old black Labrador, took the prestigious accolade, the PDSA Dickin Medal - the equivalent of the VC - after uncovering a deadly booby trap in a Kabul UN compound in 2005.

The ice cool canine sniffed out the lethal device which had been hidden in a pressure cooker behind a two foot thick concrete blast wall within the compound.

The highly charged device was packed full of high explosives. The remarkable discovery came only minutes after suicide bombers had driven a bus into a German army convoy, killing one soldier.

The bombers had planted a secondary device with the intention of massacring scores of soldiers and civilians - but Sadie thwarted the plot by discovering the bomb.

Sadie - a war veteran who has also served in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo - is only the 61st dog to be presented with the Dickin Medal since 1943.

She was accompanied at the ceremony by her handler Lance Corporal Karen Yardley, who she has been paired with for over two years and two tours of duty in the war-torn state.

Lance Corporal Yardley, 27, spoke in tribute of the dog with whom she now has a strong bond. Sadie is due to retire later this year.

She said: "We were in Kabul clearing up following a suicide bombing. We were under orders to search the surrounding area as it is often a trick of the insurgents to plant secondary devices in the vicinity that would be detonated by troops following up from the first incident.

"Had Sadie not found the secondary bomb, scores of lives would have been lost. She discovered it in a pressure cooker packed with TNT, which would have exploded, killing and injuring both through the blast and through fragments.

"When we arrived on the scene, Sadie quickly searched the area and I noticed a sudden change of attitude. Her tail suddenly became rigid and I knew there was something there. I immediately evacuated the area and that was when the bomb disposal experts went in.

"This is the sort of job that would take a patrol of soldiers several hours to do, but Sadie was able to do it in a matter of minutes.

"There is a lot of pressure on her and me as everybody's life depends on you and the dog is very much working on the frontline. She is a friendly, intelligent and enthusiastic dog and does not seem to be fazed by anything. She truly deserves this honour."

Major Chris Ham of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps said that the dog had shown courage in all situations and had acclimatised quickly to the demands of the war in Afghanistan.

He said: "The dogs are extremely fit and are able to fit into the heat and conditions in somewhere like Afghanistan very quickly.

"Despite having a thick black coat, Sadie was very quick to acclimatise over there. I also feel she will adapt very quickly on her return to civvy street.

"It costs over £30,000 to train each one of these dogs, which is more than worth it when you consider the amount of lives that are saved each time this dog successfully finds another explosive device.

"Technology is getting better at detecting these devices, but there is nothing better than a dog's nose - that's a fact.

"The Royal Army Veterinary Corps is the only area of the army which is expanding, which in itself shows you how important these dogs are."

A 62nd hound received the medal posthumously for his sterling effort and tireless work in a Malayan jungle between 1949 and 1952.

Handler Corporal Bevel Austin Stapleton spoke today for the bravery shown by the German Shepherd Lucky, an RAF tracker dog.

During the jungle campaign, Lucky and Corporal Stapleton were ambushed by a Malay gunner who deafened the dog with shooting, but could not stop him tracking the insurgent down through thick undergrowth.

Today, the 79-year-old Corporal fondly remembered his adventures with the dog.

He said: "This award's been 60 year's coming, but that doesn't matter because in those days, it was just a matter of doing your job. Lucky would have understood that. He just got things done."

Corporal Stapleton and Lucky went on several more brave missions to thwart more terrorist activity in the South Asian conflict.

Corporal Stapleton proudly accepted the medal on behalf of his faithful companion, despite not knowing what finally became of him. He added: "When I finished my tour of duty, Lucky was posted with another handler but never went jungle beating again. That is as much as I know.

"I've never been told what happened to him, but it doesn't matter, we were there to do a job and we just got on with it."