{{Short description|British Army detection dog (2009–2011)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Use British English|date=December 2022}} {{Distinguish|Treo (dog)}} {{Infobox animal | name = Theo | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = | breed = English Springer Spaniel | gender = Male | birth_date = May 2009 | birth_place = | death_date = 1 March 2011 (aged 1 year, 10 months) | death_place = Camp Bastion, Afghanistan | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | employer = British Army | role = Bomb detection dog | years_active = 2010–2011 | known = | awards = 60px Dickin Medal | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | owner = | parents = | children = | weight = | height = | appearance = White with brown markings | namedafter = }} '''Theo''' (2009–2011) was an English Springer Spaniel who served as a bomb detection dog for the British Army in Afghanistan. His handler, Lance Corporal Liam Tasker from Kirkcaldy, was killed by a Taliban sniper on 1 March 2011; Theo died after suffering a seizure just hours later, at the age of 1 year and 10 months. The pair set a new record for bomb finds during their time on deployment, and Theo was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal (also known as the animals' Victoria Cross) in 2012.
==Biography== Liam Tasker had transferred to the Royal Army Veterinary Corps in 2007, having originally enlisted in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 2001, and was assigned to the 1st Military Working Dog Regiment.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lance Corporal Liam Richard Tasker killed in Afghanistan|date=2 March 2011|work=Ministry of Defence|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/fatalities/lance-corporal-liam-richard-tasker-killed-in-afghanistan|access-date=18 September 2019}}</ref><ref name=tributesmarch2011>{{cite news|title=Tributes To Brit Soldier Shot In Afghanistan|url=http://news.sky.com/story/841239/tributes-to-brit-soldier-shot-in-afghanistan|access-date=25 October 2012|newspaper=Sky News|date=2 March 2011}}</ref> Theo was assigned to Tasker two weeks prior to deployment, after the first two dogs assigned to him did not work out.<ref name=motherstory/>
Theo was posted to Afghanistan for his first tour of duty in September 2010.<ref name=motherstory/><ref name=repatriated /> Tasker and Theo came under fire from Taliban insurgents whilst on patrol with the 1st Irish Guards in the Nahri Saraj District on 1 March 2011.<ref name=tributesmarch2011/><ref name=motherstory>{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Peter|title=Afghanistan: A mother's story|url=http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/scotland/afghanistan-a-mother-s-story-1-2591045|access-date=25 October 2012|newspaper=The Scotsman|date=21 October 2012}}</ref><ref name=expressawarded>{{cite news|last=Fox|first=Emily|title=Army Dog Theo Awarded The Dickin Medal|url=http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/354377/Army-dog-Theo-awarded-the-Dickin-Medal-|access-date=25 October 2012|newspaper=Daily Express|date=25 October 2012}}</ref> Tasker was killed by a sniper,<ref name=abcnews2011>{{cite news|last=Tumposky|first=Ellen|title=Corporal Tasker Killed By Sniper and His Bomb Sniffing Dog Collapsed and Died|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/bomb-dog-dies-seizure-moments-handler-killed/story?id=13104884#.UIldKMXBFmM|access-date=25 October 2012|newspaper=ABC News|date=10 March 2011}}</ref> and Theo was taken back to Camp Bastion by fellow soldiers.<ref name=tributesmarch2011/> He suffered a seizure after reaching the base and died just hours after Tasker,<ref name=repatriated>{{cite news|last=Stallard|first=Katie|title=Army Dog Handler And Spaniel Repatriated|url=http://news.sky.com/story/842349/army-dog-handler-and-spaniel-repatriated|access-date=25 October 2012|newspaper=Sky News|date=10 March 2012}}</ref> with the seizure thought to be triggered by the stress of Tasker's death.<ref name=abcnews2011/> Autopsy results were inconclusive.<ref name=motherstory/> Theo was the sixth British Army dog to die in Afghanistan during the conflict.<ref name=repatriated/> Tasker's mother Jane Duffy later said, "I think Theo died of a broken heart [and] nobody will convince me any different."<ref name=motherstory />
At the time of their deaths, the pair were the most successful individual working dog team in Afghanistan, having made more bomb finds than any other during the course of the five months they were stationed there for a total of 14 finds. They had proved so successful that Theo's stay in the country had been extended by a month. Major Alexander Turner said of the pair, "[Tasker] used to joke that Theo was impossible to restrain but I would say the same about Lance Corporal Tasker."<ref name=repatriated/> The remains of Tasker and Theo were both repatriated to the UK,<ref name=repatriated/> arriving first at RAF Lyneham. Tasker's mother confirmed that the family requested Theo's ashes be repatriated so the pair could be buried together, stating, "Theo's actually at his feet with him [...] Liam and Theo are where they should be."<ref name=motherstory/>
On 25 October 2012, Theo was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal (regarded as the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Long|first1=David|title=The animals' VC: for gallantry and devotion: the PDSA Dickin Medal - inspiring stories of bravery and courage|date=2012|publisher=Preface|location=London|isbn=9781848093768|ref=long2012|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/animalsvcforgall0000long}}</ref> in a ceremony which coincided with the launch of that year's poppy appeal.<ref name=standard>{{cite news|title=Bravery medal for sniffer dog Theo|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/bravery-medal-for-sniffer-dog-theo-8226494.html|access-date=25 October 2012|newspaper=Evening Standard|date=25 October 2012}}</ref><ref name=pdsadog>{{cite web|url=http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards/dickin-medal-dogs#awards-made-between-2000-ndash-to-date |title=Dickin Medal dogs |publisher=People's Dispensary for Sick Animals |access-date=14 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212182318/http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards/dickin-medal-dogs |archive-date=12 February 2010 }}</ref> The medal was awarded at Wellington Barracks and accepted on Theo's behalf by Sergeant Matthew Jones, who had served with Tasker previously, and his own detection dog Grace.<ref name=skynews>{{cite news|title=Bomb Hero Dog Theo Given Posthumous Award|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1002625/bomb-hero-dog-theo-given-posthumous-award|access-date=25 October 2012|newspaper=Sky News|date=25 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Butterly|first=Amelia|title=Army dog given posthumous medal for Afghanistan work|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-20083312|access-date=25 October 2012|newspaper=BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat|date=25 October 2012}}</ref>
The video game ''Diablo 3'' later added a pair of legendary gloves called Tasker & Theo, which enhance the effectiveness of pets owned by the character wearing them. The flavor text for the gloves states, "The master and his hound were the most famed hunters of their day. He died fighting beside his favorite dog, just as the way he would have wanted it. His loyal companion soon followed."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://us.diablo3.com/en/item/tasker-and-theo-Unique_Gloves_003_x1|title=Tasker and Theo|website=Diablo|publisher=Blizzard Entertainment|access-date=18 September 2019}}</ref>
==See also== *List of individual dogs
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20140924092934/http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards/pdsa-dickin-medal PDSA Dickin Medal, including "Roll of Honor" PDF] *[http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards/dickin-medal-dogs/theo Theo's PDSA website]
{{Dickin Medal}}
Category:Detection dogs Category:British Army animals Category:2009 animal births Category:2011 animal deaths Category:Individual dogs awarded the Dickin Medal Category:British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)