A stray dog who saved over 100 lives in the second world war is to have his medal auctioned next month. The stray dog, named Rip, was rescued by an Air Raid Precaution warden in 1940 when the German’s were bombing the Poplar area of London.
After being rescued, Rip paid his saviour back by sniffing out victims of the German air raids, saving over 100 people in London. As a result of his heroism, Rip was awarded the Dickin Medal, which was the animal version of the Victoria Cross. Spink, the auction house, will be auctioning off the medal on April 23rd, and it’s expected to raise as much as £10,000.
As a result of Rip’s success in rescuing people trapped in the debris of the bombings, the authorities decided to train more animals to sniff out victims as the war drew to a close.
There have only ever been 62 recipients of the Dickin Medal, with the majority of those being between 1943 and 1949. 18 dogs were awarded the medal during the second world war.
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