AUSTRALIAN MILITARY DOG AWARDED DICKIN MEDAL

When military dog Kuga and his special operations handler Sergeant J were choppered into Khaz Uruzgan in Afghanistan on a mission to locate a high-value Taliban target, they didn't know they were walking into an ambush.

"As Kuga was starting to swim across the river, that's when the first burst of automatic gunfire came in around him.

"I could see the rounds kicking up around him in the water."

Despite the gunfire, Kuga pushed on to the other side of the river, where he charged the shooter, and grabbed onto him.

"That forced that insurgent to target him as opposed to targeting us," Sergeant J said.

"The insurgent had an AK-47, and managed to get a shot onto Kuga, which forced him to let his grip go."

The insurgent escaped, but not before Kuga was shot five times and sustained shrapnel wounds to much of his body.

But he didn't give up.

Kuga spent the next nine months with vets in Afghanistan, Germany and Australia, who treated him and attempted to rehabilitate him.

But the stress the injuries and recovery process placed on him proved too much, and he died in July 2012.

On Friday Kuga became the first Australian dog to be awarded the Dickin Medal, which recognises the gallantry of animals during war service.

The only other Australian animals recognised by the medal are two carrier pigeons that served in World War II, the last of which was recognised in 1947.

Mary Reilly from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), which awards the Dickin Medal, said it was given out very rarely for only the most conspicuous bravery among animals.

"Kuga's sacrifice was an ultimate sacrifice," she said.

Kuga's medal will be displayed at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra from next year.

"I'm pretty proud of what Kuga did that day," Sergeant J said.

To read the complete article, see:
'Victoria Cross for animals': Military dog Kuga posthumously awarded Dickin Medal for bravery (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-26/dickin-medal-awarded-kuga-dog-canberra/10433054)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web