Macclesfield dog wins top military honour
A dog from Macclesfield, in Cheshire, has won a top military award for bravery after saving countless lives in several tours of Afghanistan.
Corporal David Heyhoe’s loyal dog ‘Treo’ was voted the finest animal in the Armed Forces at a ceremony hosted by national tabloid ‘The Sun’ earlier this month. Treo, a black Labrador, was nearly put down when he was younger as he was out of control, but like so many adolescents before him, he joined the army and it ‘straightened him out’.
Thirty-nine-year-old David and his dog Treo would search for explosives and land mines in Afghanistan, and they have just returned from a six month tour of duty.
David enthused about his loyal friend:
He’s my mate, my canine best friend, and I’m his dad!
Our presence in Afghanistan could have been a lot worse if Treo wasn’t there. He was out there sniffing around for bombs every day. He has definitely saved lives.
I was called to 10 Downing Street and Gordon Brown told me it was amazing what Treo does, and Prince Charles told me how naughty Camilla’s dogs were and asked me if I could train them!
The star studding event held in London was attended by England captain John Terry and former S-Club-7 star Rachel Stevens. David was delighted with Treo’s award:
There’s an immense amount of pride in so many people nominating my dog for the Millies award.
Pub landlord Al Murray presented our award and he was fantastic! One of his lines was ‘yes we have the marines, yes we have the Army, but there’s nothing quite like a dog’.
[…] exploits in Afghanistan. Treo was recently given the animal version of the Victoria Cross for his life saving antics while patrolling in Helmand province. Treo would sniff out potential dangers in the shape of […]