I love dogs but should we really give them medals for bravery?

The oddest thing about the Dickin medal awarded to a dog called Mali today, and given to animals from carrier pigeons to horses for ‘conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or Civil Defence Units’, is that it was instituted in 1943. Back then, there were umpteen examples of animals doing useful war work, including pigeons such as Winkie and Tyke (six of the first seven citations were to them) who helped rescue stranded airmen, and a mongrel called Tyke who sniffed out a number of Blitz victims. Naturally, there are bonds of affection and gratitude between the humans who used the creatures, and the animals. But you’d think, back then, that people wouldn’t try to foist human attributes like courage and devotion to duty on dogs and pigeons, the way we do.

Animals do behave bravely, as we would see it, but, if it’s not an error of taste to say so, they follow instincts and training and a bond with their trainers that plainly doesn’t equate to the attributes of the holders of the actual Victoria Cross with which this medal is invariably compared.