Antis: The story of one man and his incredible war dog

You may recall, too, Nipper, the HMV dog pictured listening to an old gramophone record; Pickles, who found the stolen World Cup in 1966; and perhaps even Petra, first dog to appear on Blue Peter.

Then there was Gelert, who saved the infant son of a medieval Welsh prince from being savaged by a wolf only to be slain by his master by mistake; Laika, first dog to orbit Earth; Barry, the St Bernard rescue dog who saved the lives of more than 40 people over 12 years in the Swiss Alps; and Bobbie, lost during a family holiday in America but who managed to find his own way home to Indiana six months later, a distance of 2,551 miles by road.

Most heroic of all, however, are the dogs of war...like Peter, who sniffed out dozens of casualties from the rubble of homes destroyed during the Blitz; Gander, the Newfoundland who saved soldiers' lives by grabbing a grenade in his mouth and running away with it before it exploded; Chips, who ran across No Man's Land to grab a German machine gunner by the throat; and Satan, hero of Verdun in the First World War, who ran through enemy lines with a vital message, hobbling the last few hundred years after being shot in one leg.

Now the extraordinary story of perhaps the most gallant, devoted and intelligent of them all has surfaced at auction in London in the form of the Dickin Medal - the "animal VC" - awarded to flying dog Antis, who survived starvation, being shot down, a near-drowning, three wounds and 32 airborne missions.

He also saved countless lives, including that of his master. The medal, together with other documents relating to the canine hero of the RAF and French Air Force "for outstanding courage, devotion to duty and lifesaving on several occasions", fetched £60,000 at Morton & Eden in London.

The story of Antis began when, as a starving Alsatian puppy, he was discovered in a bombed-out farmhouse by Czech airman Vaclav Bozdech, who was hiding from German search parties after being shot down over No Man's Land.

Bozdech fed him from his meagre rations, keeping him warm in his bomber jacket, and the pair escaped to France. After fighting in the North African desert with the French Foreign Legion, the pair took to the skies with the French Air Force.

Shot down while trying to make for Britain in a private aircraft, which burst into flames, man and dog were held as POWs until the ship of their Italian captors was torpedoed by the British.

Bozdech dived into the sea with Antis in his arms. Choked by burning oil on the surface of the water, they were briefly separated but both were rescued after clinging to a crate to keep them afloat.

Bozdech, refusing to be separated from his beloved Antis, smuggled the dog to Britain in the hold of a passenger ship.

He joined 311 (Czechoslovakia) Squadron, based at Speke, Liverpool, where Antis soon became the much-loved squadron mascot with an uncanny knack of hearing the approach of German bombers far sooner than through the use of modern technology.

After bombing raids, Antis sniffed out survivors trapped in the rubble of ruined buildings. Once he was buried alive a raid but was clawed his way to freedom, lame and caked in dirt and blood.

The dog's amazing story of derring-do continued when he flew with his master on 32 combat missions in Wellington bombers - the only dog in the Second World War to do so.

Fearless Antis lay for hours at his master's feet in the in the rear gun turret, unperturbed by the noise of firing guns.

When his master was wounded and in hospital, the faithful Antis stood outside the base for several days and nights, waiting for his return. In one bombing raid, struggling for air at high altitude, Bozdech shared his oxygen mask with his loyal canine friend.

Three times wounded in action by shrapnel, Antis saved the life of his master one last time during his escape from Czechoslovakia in 1948.

He alerted Bozdech to the presence of search parties, attacking and pinning down an armed border guard. The pair made it back to Britain, where Antis was presented with the Dickin Medal by Field-Marshal Lord Archibald Wavell.

But the hardships of war took their toll and the indominable Antis, barely able to walk and with failing eyesight, was put to sleep in 1953, with his master cradling him in his arms.