First recipients of the PDSA Gold Medal

Inaugurated in 2002, the Gold Medal is an award for animals established by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) for civilian acts of bravery and devotion to duty that is likened to the George Cross. The first recipients of a Gold Medal, on 12-13 November 2002, were three dogs: Bulla (a German shepherd police dog that died in the line of duty in 1990), German shepherd police dog Monty and golden Labrador assistance dog Endal.

The Gold Medal was introduced as a civilian equivalent to the PDSA Dickin Medal, a gallantry award for military animals that was established in 1943 by the charity's founder, Maria Dickin.

The dogs were nominated for the award for the following reasons:

- Bulla: apprehended a man who was threatening members of the public and police officers with a butcher's knife; sadly, Bulla received a fatal stab wound and died at the scene.

- Monty: Metropolitan police dog overcame a man with a knife during an armed siege; required surgery from wounds sustained but was back on duty three weeks later.

- Endal: support dog for Gulf War veteran Allen Parton who cared for his owner when knocked out of his wheelchair until help could arrive. Endal was also named "Dog of the Millennium" by Dogs Today magazine.

Until 2020, all of the recipients of the PDSA Gold Award had been dogs; that changed on 25 September 2020 when a mine-detecting giant pouched rat called Magawa received the honour for his service detecting unexploded devices in Cambodia; Magawa retired in June 2021.