The statue of Treo 63 DM, a black labrador retriever-english springer spaniel army dog is located at the entrance to the Community Garden on Lawton Street.
The sculpture that cost £14,000 was created by Amy Goodman and was unveiled on Thursday 26th October 2017.
The life size sculpture is mounted on a stone block that is inscribed as follows;
'(Medal etched at the top of the stone)
PDSA
For
Gallantry
WE ALSO SERVE'
'Search
& Secure
________
DEDICATED
TO THE MEMORY OF
TREO 63 DM
AND OTHER SERVICE
ANIMALS WHO LOYALLY
SERVED US'
There are two plaques situated at the base of the stone that read as follows;
'Treo
Treo 63 DM was a highly awarded
army dog. He was awarded the
animal equivalent to the
Victoria Cross. He retired from the
army in 2010 and lived out the
rest of his life in Congleton with
his handler'
'"Treo 63 DM"
Sculpted by Amy Goodman
Unveiled on 26th October 2017
By his Comrade and 'dad' Dave Heyhoe. Together they saved
many lives
in Afghanistan; and 'Founder' Steven Ashton.
With thanks to contributors WJ Group,
And all other generous members of the public and local
businesses
Without whom this Memorial would not have been possible.'
There were many news reports published about this memorial both locally and nationally in different newspapers and online.
The report by Jack Furness about this memorial appeared in The Sentinel on 27th October 2017. It reads as follows;
'Stunning £14k statue of a hero DOG who sniffed out explosives in Afghanistan unveiled in town
Handler Dave Heyhoe says the sculpture highlights the work done by animals in the military
Hero dog Treo has been immortalised with a £14,000 bronze statue in tribute to his bravery in sniffing out explosives in Afghanistan.
The fearless black Labrador is credited with saving a huge number of lives in the country and was even awarded with the animal equivalent to the Victoria Cross – the Dickin Medal.
A special sculpture of the dog, who passed away in 2015, was unveiled in Congleton’s Community Garden after a fund-raising effort in the town generated £14,912.
His handler Dave Heyhoe, who is now retired, said the statue was ‘absolutely amazing’ and a fitting tribute to his beloved Treo.
The 48-year-old, of Congleton, said: “We had such a bond that he wouldn’t work for anyone else. He was a fiery character.
“We were in a place called Sangin which at the time it was known as 'IED alley' as there were IEDs ( improvised explosive devices) everywhere.
“I was deployed with Treo to look for these IEDs on a daily basis. We were so successful out there that Treo was awarded the animal Victoria Cross for the amount of devices he found.
“Unfortunately two years ago he passed away. We don’t know if animals go through post-traumatic stress disorder, but towards the end you could tell he was struggling.”
Dave, who wrote a book about his experiences in the war-torn country with his dog, is also pleased families in Congleton can learn about Treo’s valiant efforts.
He added: “Equally it’s for all military service animals. There are dogs out there at the moment working to protect the people.
“I wrote a book about Treo and people seemed to take him on board and see him as part of them.
“He’s immortalised now and it really does look like him. Everyone will be able to look at him now and see that he did that job for his country.
Sculptor and portrait artist Amy Goodman had read Dave’s book - It's All About Treo: Life and War with the World's Bravest Dog - before she was approached. The talented sculptor who has produced a number of works centred on animals, said: “I’ve always loved animals and to be involved with something so personal has been quite emotional.
“I met Dave not long after Treo died. I wanted to capture the character of the dog so started looking at video footage of Treo and doing a lot of research.
“I wanted the sculpture to be quite high up so you could see the intensity in his face. I’m really happy with how it looks and it’s in a lovely place.
“It’s took four to five months to complete it. It was a very nice project to be involved in and a really personal one too.”
A special ceremony was held at the Lawton Street park yesterday where the statue was unveiled.
Charles Booth, Congleton Town Mayor, said: “I’ve only just finished the book and every day they were finding these bombs and every day they were under fire.
“To have the statue here is great. It’s emotional as well. You forget that we still have people overseas fighting to stop terrible things from happening.”
Treo, with his handler Dave Heyhoe, was responsible for saving many lives and sniffed out explosive devices in Afghanistan and other locations including Northern Ireland.
He was awarded the Dickins Medal, animal equivalent to the Victoria Cross and was known as 'the world's bravest dog'. He sadly passed way on 24th October 2015. (
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"Treo 63 DM was a hero army dog who was responsible for saving many lives in Afghanistan. The dog will be forever remembered in Congleton thanks to the gift of a statue which sits proudly near the entrance to the Community Garden in Lawton Street. Treo’s handler lives in Congleton, and the brave dog spent the final five years of his life in the town when both dog and owner came out of the army in 2010. The dog was awarded the Dickins Medal, the animal equivalent to the Victoria Cross.
The statue was made possible thanks to all that gave their time and money to this project. Special thanks go to the founder and fund-raiser Steve Ashton, Treo’s equally brave handler Dave Heyhoe and the incredibly talented sculptor Amy Goodman. The unveiling of the statue took place on Thursday 26th October 2017.
A book about the life of Treo ‘All about Treo’ is available from all major book shops." Source: (
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The bronze statue was created by Amy Goodman S.E.A, a Sculptor and Portrait Artist based at Project Workshops in Hampshire. She loves working in different media and has developed her unique style of welded steel, bronze sculpture, and a variety of 2D work, including her distinctive equestrian ink & acrylic wash paintings. Her work is shown internationally and she regularly exhibits with the Society of Equestrian Artists where she is a full member. Source: (
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