A retired US military dog who lost their leg in the line of duty, is to be given a top award to honour their bravery.
Lucca, a 12-year-old German Shepherd, will be awarded the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross for the diligent service she provided on her 400 missions with the US Marine Corps.
In her six years as a military dog, she protected the lives of ''thousands of allied troops'' with no human casualties while she was on duty.
Lucca will be assigned the Dickin Medal and she's not the first animal to receive it. Since its introduction in 1943, the award has been issued to 31 dogs (including Lucca), 32 WWII messenger pigeons, three hourses and one cat.
The German Shepherd instantly lost her leg and suffered severe burns to her chest in 2012, when she was caught up in explosion from a detonated device.
Lucca the bomb-dog getting the equivalent of the Victoria Cross - she lost a leg in Afghanistan > https://t.co/tWiM9c7WO8 #CapitalReports
— CapitalLivNews (@CapitalLivNews) April 5, 2016
LIVE Lucca the dog get his campaign medal today - Live on Sky News now - after 6 years in Marine Corp
— Paul Harrison (@SkyNewsEditor) April 5, 2016
