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Upon hearing there was a dog called K9 Killer in the news, admittedly we were a little concerned. But he’s actually a sweetheart and one of the most heroic dogs in the world right now, a title we don’t dish out lightly.

Killer, a five-year-old Belgian Malinois, has spent the last four years working to save the African Rhino from extinction in South Africa, tracking and thwarting poachers like some sort of canine superhero.

Killer’s work has led to the arrest of 115 poachers in Kruger National Park and he even flies in by helicopter. He’s basically a badass and we love him.

PDSA (The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) have joined up with long-time animal rights campaigner Ricky Gervais to award Killer with their highest accolade, a gold medal. The medal is something they’ve only given out 24 times before but felt Killer deserved for his “fantastic work”.

Gervais regularly calls out those posing with hunted animals on Twitter and was the perfect man for the job in giving out the award saying

“Killer does fantastic work in the Kruger National Park."

"He helped capture dozens of poachers in the last year alone, thanks to his amazing courage and dedication."

We’re not sure if dogs really understand what gold medals are, but Killer has certainly earned his praise and we hope he gets a nice juicy bone or something too to go along with the award.