Rip (dog)

Rip (died 1946), a mixed-breed terrier, was a Second World War search and rescue dog who was awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery in 1945.

Mr King worked at post B132 in Poplar, where Rip was adopted as mascot of the Southill Street Air Raid Patrol.

[citation needed] His success has been held partially responsible for prompting the authorities to train search and rescue dogs towards the end of World War II.

[4] How welcome to the victims must have been the first sounds of those scrabbling paws, shrill terrier yaps, and the first sight of the grinning Tommy Brock face with its merry friendly eyes.Rip was awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945,[6] two years after it was introduced.

[7] When he died in 1946, Rip became the first of a number of Dickin Medal winners to be buried in the PDSA Cemetery in Ilford, Essex.

Rip searching through rubble, accompanied by his handler Mr E. King.
Rip's headstone at the Ilford Animal Cemetery