U.S. Marines Dog Lucca Receives PDSA Dickin Medal After Losing Leg on Patrol

  Gunnery Sergeant Christopher Willingham and Lucca.
Photo courtesy of PDSA

By Alexander Smith

LONDON — 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 can achieve while serving in military conflict" and has given it out just 66 times since 1943. 

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Source: NBC News