Lance Corporal Liam Tasker and his Springer spaniel mix Theo.
The horrors of war are documented all too regularly, but it’s not just human lives that are affected; in one notable case, it was an animal as well. Theo, a springer spaniel mix, worked for five months in Afghanistan alongside Royal Army Veterinary Corps Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, as they hunted for roadside bombs. But in March 2011, Tasker was killed during a firefight with insurgents in Helmand Province and it’s believed that Theo died from a seizure just hours later, likely caused by stress. The pair returned to Britain on the same military flight. In October 2012, Theo was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal, which has been recognizing wartime heroics by animals since World War II.