The inscription on Gander's Citation for Bravery reads as follows:
For saving the lives of Canadian Infantrymen during the Battle of Lye Mun on Hong Kong Island in December 1941. On three documented occasions “Gander” the Newfoundland mascot of the Royal Rifles of Canada engaged the enemy as his regiment joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers, members of Battalion Headquarters “C” Force and other Commonwealth troops in their courageous defence of the Island. Twice “Gander’s” attacks halted the enemy’s advance and protected groups of wounded soldiers. In a final act of bravery the war dog was killed in action gathering a grenade. Without “Gander’s” intervention many more lives would have been lost in the assault.
In 2000, Gander became the first animal in 59 years to be awarded the Dickin Medal, and the first canadian animal ever. Listen to the CBC radio broadcast of that day, with commentary by Jeremy Swanson from the Canadian War Museum and Fred Kelley, Gander's handler during WWII