PDSA Animal Awards Programme

What are the different PDSA Animal Awards?

There are three globally recognised medals and a special commendation that you can nominate an animal for. The awards include:

• The PDSA Dickin Medal is the highest award any animal companion can receive while serving in military conflict. It celebrates outstanding acts of bravery or devotion to duty displayed by animals serving with the Armed Forces or Civil Defence units throughout the world. Read more about the PDSA Dickin Medal.
• The PDSA Gold Medal is the non-military counterpart to the PDSA Dickin Medal and rewards civilian acts of animal bravery and exceptional devotion to duty. It’s the highest animal honour for life-saving devotion to duty in civilian life. Read more about the PDSA Gold Medal.
• The PDSA Order of Merit recognises animals that display outstanding devotion to their owner and society, going above and beyond normal companionship. Recipients could include pets or service animals who enrich our lives and make an extraordinary contribution to society. Read more about the PDSA Order of Merit.
• The PDSA Commendation celebrates the devotion and enrichment that animal companions bring to our lives. Recipients include pets that have provided help and support to owners during difficult times or simply made life better through their companionship. Read more about the PDSA Commendation.

To nominate an animal for a PDSA Animal Award, download our nomination pack.

What animals can be nominated?

You can nominate any animal that has gone above and beyond, showing extraordinary animal bravery or exceptional devotion to duty. In the past, dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, rats, hamsters, ferrets, and pigeons have been nominated for special awards.

There are three medals and one commendation that you can nominate an animal companion for. 

To nominate an animal for a PDSA Animal Award, download our nomination pack.

How involved will I be?

If your nomination is successful, we'll need your help to tell the animal’s story. You’ll need to share information, supply photos and footage of the animal, and gather witness testimonies to support your application.

We may require your help to promote your animal’s award too, which could include:

• Filming with a small crew in your local area.
• Participating in interviews across media outlets, including TV, radio and online.
• Attending a special awards ceremony in person.

We understand that it’s a big commitment if you are participating in media interviews and attending an event with an animal. However, we ensure the animal’s comfort and safety is the priority. One of our vets will be on hand to make sure the animal is happy and healthy.

Please note: If you’re not the animal’s caretaker, please ensure they’re aware and comfortable with the nomination and potential next steps before nominating the animal.

To nominate an animal for a PDSA Animal Award, download our nomination pack.

Is there a nomination deadline?

There’s no deadline for nominating an animal as it’s a rolling nomination process. Submissions are often reviewed as they come in, rather than all at once after a single deadline. This means that if you want to nominate an extraordinary animal, you don’t have to wait until the next nomination window to submit your application; you can do it now.

To nominate an animal for a PDSA Animal Award, download our nomination pack.

What happens after I submit a nomination?

After you submit a nomination for the PDSA Animal Awards Programme, your application will be reviewed against our awarding criteria and by our expert panel, which is made up of PDSA trustees. The review timeline can vary but we will contact you to let you know the outcome of the application.

How are nominations judged?

All nominations are reviewed against our awarding criteria. Those that are chosen will then be reviewed by our expert panel, which is made up of PDSA trustees.

What do the awarded animals receive?

What the animals receive depends entirely on what they are awarded. There are three different medals and one commendation award.

• Animals that are awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal will receive a large, bronze medallion bearing the words “For Gallantry” and “We Also Serve” all within a laurel wreath. The medal is attached by a ribbon that is blue, brown and green to represent water, earth and air to symbolise the naval, land and air forces.
• Animals that are awarded the PDSA Gold Medal will receive a large, gold medallion featuring a laurel wreath on it, proudly highlighting the name of the medal. There is a royal blue ribbon attached to the medal so that recipients can triumphantly wear it.
• Animals that are awarded the PDSA Order of Merit will receive a large, silver medallion featuring a laurel wreath on it, proudly highlighting the name of the medal. There is a royal blue ribbon with white stripes attached to the medal.
• Animals that are awarded the PDSA Commendation will receive a prestigious paper award in a special frame with the recipient's name proudly displayed. The award is also personally endorsed and signed by PDSA Director General Jan McLoughlin.

To nominate an animal for a PDSA Animal Award, download our nomination pack.

I have another question

If you have a question about a particular award, you can learn more by visiting the individual award pages.

• Learn more about the PDSA Dickin Medal
• Learn more about the PDSA Gold Medal
• Learn more about the PDSA Order of Merit
• Learn more about the PDSA Commendation

If you want to make a nomination for a PDSA Animal Award, you can download our nomination pack.

If you can't find the information you're looking for, you can contact us using our general enquiries form.