A rescue dog has been awarded the prestigious PDSA Order of Merit for his devotion to helping people in the most challenging situations.
Border Collie, Bryn, received the award thanks to his bravery and perseverance when helping people in life-threatening circumstances.
Back in 2009, Bryn became one of four UK dog teams to pass the International Rescue Dog Organisation’s ‘mission readiness test’ and since then has been deployed all over the world to tackle tasks from collapsing buildings to gas explosions.
In May 2016, Bryn retired from his role with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service alongside faithful companion and handler Steve Buckley, with 11 years of service under his collar.
Throughout his long tenure, Bryn advanced into danger zones like Japan after tsunami struck in 2011 and to help people recover from the devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015.
Bryn was able to reunite families in disastrous circumstances, as well as help to return the bodies of loved ones to their families for a chance to say their goodbyes properly.
Speaking about receiving the award, the Dog’s former handler, Mr Buckley, said: “Bryn has been a dedicated and exemplary search dog throughout his career. He never wavered from his mission and those working with him had complete faith in his detection skills. His skills have been used to set training standards across the world.
“Dogs like Bryn only come along once in a lifetime and I’m incredibly lucky to have worked beside him for the past 11 years. Receiving the PDSA Order of Merit is a fitting end to his distinguished career. I am so proud of him.”
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