--- description: She lost one of her legs while hunting for homemade bombs in Afghanistan. title: Heroic Dog Awarded Top Military Medal After Losing One of Her Legs image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9adad63feaf14ec8/69888db88e06016cfe4654e4/christopher-willingham.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Heroic Dog Awarded Top Military Medal After Losing One of Her Legs by [Alexander Smith / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## Alexander Smith / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 5, 2016 3:24 PM CUT  Christopher Willingham and Lucca, after receiving the PDSA Dickin Medal, awarded for animal bravery, in London, on April 5, 2016. Christopher Willingham and Lucca, after receiving the PDSA Dickin Medal, awarded for animal bravery, in London, on April 5, 2016.Frank Augstein—AP by [Alexander Smith / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## Alexander Smith / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 5, 2016 3:24 PM CUT Move over Lassie, there’s a new hero pooch in town. Meet Lucca, a retired U.S. Marine Corps dog who lost one of her legs while hunting for homemade bombs in Afghanistan. More than four years after she was reduced to three paws, Lucca was awarded a top military medal for the 400 missions she completed during her service. The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals — a British charity known as the PDSA — honored Lucca with its Dickin Medal during a ceremony at London’s Wellington Barracks on Tuesday. The PDSA says the award is “the highest award any animal in the world…” [_Read the rest of this articles from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-marines-dog-lucca-receives-pdsa-dickin-medal-after-n550786?cid=par-time%5F20160405 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4282115/dog-awarded-military-medal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4282115/dog-awarded-military-medal/"},"headline":"Heroic Dog Awarded Top Military Medal After Losing One of Her Legs","datePublished":"2016-04-05T15:24:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:31:22.283Z","description":"She lost one of her legs while hunting for homemade bombs in Afghanistan","url":"https://time.com/4282115/dog-awarded-military-medal/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","viral","U.S.","Marines"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9adad63feaf14ec8/69888db88e06016cfe4654e4/christopher-willingham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexander Smith / NBC News"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9adad63feaf14ec8/69888db88e06016cfe4654e4/christopher-willingham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Britain Animal Award","caption":"Britain Animal Award","creditText":"Frank Augstein—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4282115/dog-awarded-military-medal/","name":"Heroic Dog Awarded Top Military Medal After Losing One of Her Legs"}}]}] ```