Dog heroes

It was then awarded six times until its eventual replacement in 1978 by the Phyllis Meyer Argus Award.

Always keen to recognise kindness to dogs above and beyond the call of duty, from 1912 onwards Dogs Trust awarded a silver medal to  those people who rescued dogs from beatings, rivers, fires and other hardships - dog heroes.

Dogs in wartime

• During World War I Dogs Trust paid for over 12,500 dog licences, a valuable help to families whose bread-winner was away at war.
• Stories of remarkable courage and devotion of dogs in wartime are too numerous to mention.  One of the most notable however was Bob, who carried water to troops under fire throughout the Boer War.  He filled the bottles of water strapped to his body by dashing into a stream and lying down until the bottles were full before returning to the front.
• The outbreak of World War II led to Dogs Trust issuing instructions for the construction of a gas-proof kennel and gas masks for dogs through appeals on the BBC.

Numerous leaflets were produced giving advice on coping with anticipated emergencies such as:

• Dogs and the invader
• Poison gas and domestic pets
• Air raid precautions for dogs
• War time dog food

A slightly more unusual illustration of Dogs Trust war work was the collection of combings from members dogs' fur to be knitted into clothing for the troops!  This was a very successful operation that continued for many years.

The services of Dogs Trust were advertised at military camps in the UK so that dogs that attached themselves could be found homes when camps disbanded.  They also found homes for volunteer dogs (messengers, guard dogs, rat catchers) when the war came to an end and helped with quarantine bills for dogs befriended by soldiers at the front line and subsequently brought home.