Beauty, a wire-haired terrier, held by her owner PDSA Superintendent Bill Barnet. © PDSA Archives.
Beauty is thought to be the world’s first rescue dog.
Initially, she simply accompanied Bill Barnet as he took part in rescue missions following bombing raids during the Second World War.
Although she was untrained in rescuing, one day, on her own initiative, she dug through rubble and found a cat, resulting in her becoming an official member of the rescue team.
Beauty found and saved 63 animals during the war years. She died naturally in 1950.
https://heritagecalling.com/2023/12/21/heroic-animals-at-war-the-history-of-the-pdsa-dickin-medal/