Dog cocked leg to extinguish Nazi bomb

Juliana, a Great Dane, leapt into action after the device fell through the roof of her owner's house in 1941.

It is thought that she put out the flames by standing over the bomb, lifting her leg and emptying her bladder.

Three years later the courageous pet alerted customers to a fire that was ripping through her owner's shoe shop, earning her another Blue Cross Medal for courage.

Juliana’s story was only revealed when auctioneers carrying out a house clearance at a property in Bristol discovered the second medal plus a portrait of the pet.

A plaque attached to the picture reads: "Juliana - awarded a medal for extinguishing an incendiary bomb April 1941. Awarded another for alerting the occupants of her master's burning shop November 1944.”

The medal and portrait sold for £1,100 at Wotton Auction Rooms in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, more than 18 times the pre-sale estimate of £60.

Auctioneer Philip Taubenheim said: "We are constantly finding treasures during house clear-outs, many with fascinating stories behind them. This medal and portrait are a perfect example.

"They were found at two different stages of a house clearance at a property in Bristol that belonged to a relative of Juliana's owner.

"We united the two and were able to lift the lid on an incredible story.

"The inscription on the Blue Cross Medal states it was presented to Juliana, a Great Dane, after she warned her master of a fire that was tearing through his shop in 1944.

"As if that wasn't amazing enough, the plaque on the framed portrait of Juliana revealed she had been awarded another Blue Cross award previously in 1941.

"That time she was given the award for putting out an incendiary bomb that had crashed through the roof of her owner's house.

"I've never heard of a dog being able to extinguish a bomb before - one can only assume this was a Great Dane with a great bladder.

"These items tell a fantastic story and highlight the often-forgotten role that animals played in the war."

Sadly, Juliana met an unfortunate end in 1946 when she was killed by poison that was posted through her owner's letterbox.

The Blue Cross began life as Our Dumb Friends League in 1897 and initially only gave out medals to people who had helped rescue animals.

However, in 1918 an order of merit was created to honour horses which had served in the First World War.

The award was almost forgotten until it was revived in 1940 and awarded to heroic dogs.

The Blue Cross Medal is similar to the Dickin Medal, created by pet charity PDSA in 1943 and predominately awarded to carrier pigeons.

Other Blue Cross Medals awarded during the war included one to French dog La Cloche for saving her master, who couldn't swim, from the sinking liner Meknes.

Fluff the dog was presented with one after drawing attention to her owners who had been buried in rubble when a bomb hit their house.

Blue Cross medals stopped being awarded in 1951, but the honour was reinstated in 2006 to recognise Jake, a police explosives dog that helped to clear Tube lines after the 7/7 London bombings.