The Story of Endal: Dog of the Millennium
Now you know the story of Bruce, Shannon, Cole and Whit, his amazing service dogs. Let me tell you the story of another almost unbelievable service dog from the British Isles, Endal.
This story begins with Allen Parton, chief petty officer in the Royal Navy who while serving in the gulf suffered catastrophic head injuries from a car accident. These injuries included a memory loss so severe that he couldn’t recognize his wife and children. He had to use a wheelchair. He could no longer judge the speed of objects or the distance, and he was unable to speak. He was forced to use hand signals and gestures to communicate. This led to a miserable existence for years eventually causing his wife Sandra to consider divorce.
It was Sandra who discovered service dogs, but it was Allen who had to be convinced of their value for him. This hurtle was overcome by a dog considered unsuitable for service work. This dog went on to become not just an outstanding partner but one of the most remarkable dogs of all time. Most service dogs and their partners rely on verbal communication. Endal, the dog not chosen because of a disease known as osteochondrosis in both front legs, overcame that lack of verbal interaction on his own. With Allen’s disabilities, Endal had to learn how to pull the plug in the bathtub if Allen fell asleep, pull him into the recover position and hit the emergency button on the mobile phone and get help. These are all just in a day’s work for a service dog with thousands of them performing tasks like this every day without recognition or reward.
Endal became famous in 2001 when Allen was knocked out of his wheelchair by a passing car. Endal put him in recovery position, retrieved his mobile phone from under the car, dragged a blanket from the wheelchair and covered Allen, barked for assistance and when assistance failed to come? Endal ran to a nearby hotel to get help.
Endal received many awards in his lifetime and there are numerous media/audio-visual stories surrounding him.
If you would like to learn more about this unbelievable dog who represents many other unbelievable service dogs, check him out on one of the following.
Canadian series “Dogs and Jobs”
British series “The Secret Lives of Dogs”
A book entitled Endal
Endal’s YouTube video: The Dog That Saved Our Marriage, by Ady Crocker
YouTube Endal the Service dog Simon Arons
There are many more stories of this amazing dog, just google it if you can.
Endal was able to respond to over one hundred instructions as well as hundreds of signed commands. He could retrieve items from store shelves, operate buttons and switches, and load and empty a washing machine. Endal is credited for being the first dog to insert and remove a card from an ATM machine.
He was born December 13, 1995, and died March 13, 2009, and was a gorgeous yellow English labrador. His legacy lives on as he was followed by EJ (Endal Junior) who was followed by ET (Endal the Third)
To quote Allen Parton, Endal’s human:
“When I couldn’t talk, he learned sign language-if I touched my head I wanted my hat, if I touched my face, it was for the razor. He learned hundreds of commands in signing. Eventually, one day, in this very silent world we lived in, I grunted. That was like an electric shock going through him. He was so excited. They said I would never speak again, but he dragged the speech out of me.”
I read about him in a little mystery book. I enjoy reading mysteries. When I was younger, I read the hard core mysteries…Patricia Cornwell, John Sanford, James Patterson, John Grisham just to name a few. I find that as I get older, I prefer the less hardcore and more whimsical like The Cat Who series by Lilan Jackson Braun. Lately I’ve been enjoying mysteries with a dog or two as the main character. If you enjoy a bit of fun in your mysteries, you might enjoy some of these
Steve Higgs Albert Smith and Rex’s Mystery Thrillers
Spencer Quinn Chet and Bernie Mysteries
Sherrie Burton Jerry McNeal Series (warning this is called a Paranormal Snapshot and includes the ghost of a deceased German Shepherd Police dog)
And last, one that is a bit more intense but includes training that is amazing for search and rescue Jessica Anderson Jessica Anderson’s K-9 Mysteries
As I keep telling folks, animals are amazing, and I truly believe they are sent to us from the Lord above when we need them.
