Caesar, the Anzac dog

Caesar, A Company, 4 Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade

Caesar the bulldog, wearing his official collar, led the grand parade down Auckland's Queen St before the Rifle Brigade left New Zealand for the war. He was a trained Red Cross dog and helped rescue wounded troops during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Dogs were especially useful for helping stretcher-bearers find wounded soldiers in no-man's-land at night.

Caesar was killed in action. His collar is now held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Patricia Stroud wrote a book about his life, Caesar the Anzac dog, which was illustrated by Bruce Potter.

On 27 February 2019 at the National Army Museum, Waiouru a Blue Cross Medal was awarded to 'Ceaser'. He is New Zealand’s first recipient of the Blue Cross Medal, an award for bravery.  His name was misspelt originally, and so it remains: Ceaser, not Caesar.

A detail of Caesar's collar (note the incorrect spelling of his name) from the Auckland War Memorial Museum.