The now famous French Police Dog named Diesel, who lost his life in the line of duty on Wednesday, November 18th, is being honored with the prestigious Dickin Medal for gallantry by the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a British veterinary charity.
In a press release by PDSA, they re-account Diesel’s heroic deeds:
On the morning of Wednesday 18 November, five days after the Paris attacks which killed 130 people, the French national police forces, including RAID, were involved in a security operation in the suburb of St-Denis.
Armed police began searching an apartment where the suspected leader of the Paris attacks, along with six other terrorists, was staying.
Diesel’s handler was on duty as sporadic gunfire came from the apartment. When the shooting stopped, Diesel’s handler* reports: “After a few minutes we decided to send in the dog to see if the zone was clear.“He did a tour of the first room, then he went into the second room and dashed forward. I think he’d found someone. Then I lost sight of him and the gunfire started again.
“His role was to open the way for the rest of us. He uses all his senses to detect if anyone is present and if he can get to them, to go and bite them. If not, he stands and barks to indicate where the person is hiding.
“I had absolute confidence in him, and him in me. Both of us knew how the other would behave in the situation.”
At 10am local time, Diesel was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
Major RULP Jean-Marc Lenglet from the French National Police, said: “Diesel’s handler has been deeply affected by the death of his dog, as have many thousands of well-wishers who sent messages of condolence for Diesel who died in the service of his country.”
The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943.
Since then, it has been awarded to 30 dogs (including Diesel), 32 pigeons, 3 horses and 1 cat. The award “acknowledges outstanding acts of bravery or devotion to duty displayed by animals serving with the Armed Forces or Civil Defense units in any theatre of war throughout the world.” (www.pdsa.org.uk)
