PDSA Gold Medal
The PDSA Gold Medal is an animal bravery award that acknowledges the bravery and devotion to duty of animals. It was created by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals in 2001, and is now recognised as the animal equivalent of the George Cross. The Gold Medal is considered as the civilian equivalent to PDSA's Dickin Medal for military animals. An animal can be awarded the PDSA Gold Medal if it assists in saving human or non-human life when its own life is in danger or through exceptional devotion to duty. The medal can also be awarded to animals in public service, such as police or rescue dogs, if the animal dies or suffers serious injury while carrying out its official duties in the face of armed and violent opposition.
The first ceremony, in November 2002, saw the Gold medal awarded to three dogs, including Endal, an assistance dog whose actions helped to save the life of his disabled owner. , the PDSA Gold Medal has been awarded in total 28 times. All recipients to date have been dogs, and all have been British except for Bamse, who was Norwegian, George and Gage, both from New Zealand, and Ajax, who was Spanish.
Recipients
| Date of award | Recipient | Notes | Date of incident | Ref |
| Bulla | A police dog who was killed in 1990 after being stabbed while apprehending a man brandishing a knife. | |||
| Metpol Delta Monty | Otherwise known as Monty, a police dog, who overpowered a man wielding a knife despite being stabbed several times. | |||
| Endal | A Labrador Retriever service dog who pulled his disabled owner into the recovery position after he was struck unconscious, then covered him with a blanket. He also retrieved his mobile phone and pushed it against his face. Endal only left his owner's side to fetch help once he had regained consciousness. | |||
| Orca | A Golden Retriever assistance dog who fetched help when his wheelchair-using owner fell into a ditch and was pinned face-down next to the water under her motorised chair. Although the first person he encountered believed he was lost and tried to lead him away, he broke free from his collar and eventually led his owner's neighbour to the scene of the accident. | |||
| Blue | A German Shepherd police dog, who despite being stabbed while tracking a violent suspect, followed the man to his hideout and assisted in his disarming and arrest. | |||
| Zoltan | A police dog who was stabbed while attempting to disarm a man who had been threatening members of the public and the police with a knife. | |||
| Dylan & Cracker | A pair of search-and-rescue dogs from Northern Ireland, the two dogs received their award for their search-and-rescue work including their "exceptionally courageous work" in Turkey following the 1999 İzmit earthquake. | |||
| Bamse | A St. Bernard who was a mascot to the Royal Norwegian Navy minesweeper Thorodd in the Second World War, he knocked a knifeman into the sea, and later saved a crew member from drowning. | |||
| Vinnie, Billy & Jake | Vinnie, Billy and Jake, all sniffer dogs, were honoured as representatives of the 14 police dogs who undertook "life saving work" during the 7 July 2005 London bombings. | |||
| Ghillie | An English Springer Spaniel who fetched assistance when his owner's mother collapsed while walking him. | |||
| George | A Jack Russell Terrier who was killed while shielding a group of children from a pair of attacking Pit Bulls. | |||
| Bosnich | A pet black Labrador Retriever that led rescuers to his owner's 73-year-old father who had gone missing on the Cumbrian Fells. | |||
| Anya | A police dog who suffered stab wounds to the chest while protecting her handler. | |||
| Frodo | A five-year-old Beagle who woke his owner and led the family to safety when smoke detectors failed to go off during a house fire. | |||
| Oi | A Staffordshire Bull Terrier who saved her owners' lives by fighting off a gang of four machete-wielding assailants. Oi died from cancer before the award was made. | |||
| Dexter | For displaying outstanding gallantry, despite serious injuries, while carrying out official duties in the face of violent opposition | |||
| Ellie and Jones | German Shepherd-crosses who saved the life of their owner | November 2010 | ||
| Ajax | German Shepherd awarded for "lifesaving bravery and courageous devotion to duty in the face of extreme danger.” | July 2009 | ||
| Gage | A German Shepherd police dog who suffered a fatal gunshot wound while protecting his injured handler during a routine drugs search. | July 2010 | ||
| K9 Killer | A Belgian Malinois dog who works with the Kruger National Park's Special Operations Team to prevent rhinoceros poachers in South Africa. | Since 2012 | ||
| Ozzy | A police dog in Falkirk, Scotland which disarmed a knife-wielding man threatening to blow up a block of flats. | 2015 | ||
| Diesel | A Staffordshire Bull Terrier family pet that saved his family in a house fire. | 28 May 2016 | ||
| Teddy | A Cockapoo that alerted to a child in a tumble dryer, saving him from potentially fatal injuries. | 13 November 2016 | ||
| Finn | A German Shepherd police dog that was badly knifed in an incident during a police chase in Hertfordshire, afterwards together with his owner campaigned to change to the law to give better protection to injured working animals | October 2016 |