The Royal Family have sent their congratulations to Max, a springer spaniel from the north of England, who’s been awarded a British pet charity’s top honor.
The 13-year-old spaniel, known as Max the Miracle Dog, has been awarded the PDSA Order of Merit for providing comfort and support to thousands of people worldwide.
Max is the first pet to receive the medal as all previous recipients have been police and search and rescue animals.
The award is considered to be the animal equivalent of the human OBE award, and according to PDSA, it “recognizes animals that display outstanding devotion to their owner or wider society, above and beyond companionship.”
The human OBE (Order of the British Empire) is awarded by the Queen and mostly rewards service to society through the arts, science, and charitable acts.
This morning, the Royal Family tweeted their congratulations to Max and thanked him for his “unwavering service to society as a virtual therapy dog.”
Princess Alexandra, first cousin to Queen Elizabeth, is the Royal patron of the PDSA animal charity. She is the longest-serving patron of the PDSA, and as part of her duties, she has visited numerous pet hospitals across the United Kingdom.
Max the Miracle Dog received a medal to go with award
The PDSA also posted a tweet with a video of a proud Max receiving his medal.
Max’s human is Kerry Irvine, who tragically was involved in a car accident in 2006. Kerry’s injuries left him struggling to walk, and he was largely confined to his house, which led to severe depression and thoughts of suicide.
Thankfully, along came Max, who inspired/forced Kerry to walk again. They started traversing their native Lake District in northern England, and within a year, they’d climbed Ben Nevis, Britain’s biggest mountain.
Kerry began taking photos and filming his walks which he then posted to his Facebook business page. As a result, Max soon generated a large following of people who love watching his outdoor adventures. He now has his own page called Max Out in the Lake District.
When people began requesting to meet with Max, Kerry obliged by taking the miracle dog on personal meet-and-greets, charity walks, public appearances, and school visits. Max has now met over 10,000 people and raised £300,000 for charity.
Good boy, Max!
The Royal Family have always loved dogs
The Royal Family members have never made it a secret of their love of dogs. Queen Elizabeth has owned and bred corgis since 1933, and you may have seen them starring in the London 2012 Olympics.
These are some seriously pampered hounds. They reportedly each have their own butler who hand delivers them meals in porcelain bowls.
Prince William and Kate Middleton, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are proud owners of Lupo, who has been known to fly around with the couple by helicopter.
In other Royal news, Prince Charles yesterday visited health workers and vaccine volunteers in a Birmingham hospital where he joked that Britain’s Health Service was in far better condition than himself. The Health Service and the Prince are both 72 years old.
It has also emerged this week that Prince Harry is set to lose his honorary military titles after he and Meghan gave up performing Royal duties last year.