Androclus and the lion: a traditional vetenary symbol

Who caresses the mirror-smooth surface of this medal will be faced with an unpleasant surprise. An almost invisible but very sharp tip arises from the center.

The medal refers to the Roman legend of Androclus. Fleeing his master this slave hid himself in what later turned out to be a lion's den. When the lion returned from his hunt limping, there appeared to be a thorn stuck in his leg. Androclus overcome his fears and took care of the animal by pulling the thorn from his paw. The veterinarians who receive this medal may symbolically reenact this act of mercy by removing the cone with its sharp point from the medal. The perfect geometrical shapes are directly machined out of a brass block with the aid of a computer-controlled machine.