The Great Dane Who Extinguished a Bomb During World War II

Wartime stories always include tales of extraordinary bravery, but sometimes those stories extend even to the animals (typically horses and dogs, but sometimes even pigeons) that assisted in the Allied efforts during the two World Wars. In the UK, the bravery of animals during wartime has long been recognized by a number of medals awarded by animal welfare organizations, most notably the famous Dickin Medal, awarded by the PDSA, and the older Blue Cross Medal. Both prizes continue to be awarded today, chiefly to animals known to have demonstrated extraordinary heroism or initiative. Yet throughout history they have been bestowed on a fascinating mixture of animals with a truly remarkable set of stories to tell—and perhaps the most curious story of all belongs to the only animal in history to be awarded the Blue Cross Medal twice. Juliana the Great Dane’s Twin MedalsA Great Dane at a British dog fair | OLI SCARFF/GettyImagesJuliana the Great Dane was awarded the Blue Cross Medal in both 1941 and 1944. Her second medal, which she received in November 1944, recognized the role she played in alerting her family, the Brittons, to a fire that had broken out in the shoe shop they owned. The first medal she earned, back in April 1941, however, was given in recognition of a far more unusual and bizarre episode in both her life and the course of the Second World War. Although the precise details of Juliana’s tale are a little unclear, it is believed that sometime in the spring of 1941, amid Germany’s infamous “Blitz” attacks on the United Kingdom, a burning incendiary bomb crashed through the roof of Juliana’s family’s home. Presumably not put off at all by the noise or the smoke, Juliana is said to have approached the bomb, stood over it, and urinated on it, thereby successfully putting it out. Her actions (whether intentional or not) ultimately saved the family home, and likely several lives in the process. The Fate of JulianaGreat Dane walking in Greece | LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/GettyImagesJuliana’s extraordinary story sadly drifted into obscurity sometime after the war, and the events that had led to her winning her pair of Blue Cross Medals only came to light again after a portrait of her, along with an explanatory inscription and one of her awards, was discovered among the items sent to a local auctioneer from a house clearance in Bristol, in southwest England. “People usually like to hang on to things like this,” auctioneer Philip Taubenheim told the BBC at the time. “It’s only because the family became estranged that this piece came on to the market.” The items went on to be sold for £1,100. As if the fact that Juliana’s acts of bravery came to be forgotten were not tragic enough, however, her life too was apparently cut short in terrible circumstances just two years after she received her second medal, in 1946. According to reports, an unknown person later put poison through the letterbox of Juliana’s home, killing her. How old she was at the time is unfortunately not known—yet perhaps she might well have gone on to win a third medal had circumstances been different.