A White House guard dog won an award for protecting the Obama family.
A White House guard dog recently won an award for protecting the Obama family during their time at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The black Belgian Malinois, named Hurricane, was the first international dog to receive the British honor of the Order of Merit from the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, a veterinary charity.
Dog O’Day learned of this through ABC News.
The Order of Merit is roughly equivalent to the Royal Order of British Empire, and according to the PDSA, it “recognises animals who display outstanding devotion above and beyond normal companionship, and animal acts that symbolise their special relationship with humans.”
On October 22, 2014, an intruder scaled the White House fence and made it onto the north lawn, where Hurricane leaped at the intruder, knocking him down and forcing him back into the perimeter fence.
Hurricane is now retired after serving as a Secret Service Special Operations Canine, but his handler Marshall Mirachi accompanied him to London to receive the award.
“It was very hard to watch,” Miraichi said in a video from the PDSA. “I’ve never had to see my dog get hit like that, slammed like that, kicked, punched. He was cut up pretty good from the fight. I knew it was bad. Hurricane went in and did that so we didn’t have to.”
Hurricane is the 20th dog to receive the Order of Merit, and the 31st animal overall. (A dozen horses have also received the honor.)
He was also mentioned in a Twitter post from the US Embassy in London.
A Belgian Malinois, Hurricane stopped an intruder from entering the @Whitehouse back in 2014. Today he was accompanied by his handler, Officer Marshall Mirarchi, as he was awarded the @PDSA_HQ Order of Merit for his actions. pic.twitter.com/JT3G3R9env
— U.S. Embassy London (@USAinUK) October 4, 2019
Another American dog, a German Shepherd named Lucca, received the PDSA’s Dickin Medal in 2016 after completing over 400 missions through six years in Afghanistan and Iraq. Lucca lost a leg during his time as a military working dog.
While it’s impossible to know for sure, it seems likely that elite trainer Jeff Franklin was involved in the educations of both Hurricane and Lucca, either directly or indirectly.