The dog had the ability to asses situations and take decisions favoring his master. Endal was the apt one that Allen needed as a comrade.
Endal, the Labrador that operates buttons
"We recently had the opportunity of trying out South West Trains’ new rolling stock that replaced the ageing slam door train,” he explains. “When the train pulled into the station there was no time to start teaching Endal how to operate the equipment. Without any prompting he just leapt up and operated the train’s push button system to open the door.”
“His ability to learn is absolutely astounding and as well as helping with the everyday tasks of life he gave back to me the independence I thought I had lost forever. For the first time Sandra began to worry less about leaving me on my own as if there was an emergency Endal would be on hand to raise the alarm.”
Allen and Endal’s daily routine
Endal wakes Allen every morning, without fail,at 7 am – even when he wants a lie-in. Sometimes Allen tries to keep his eyes closed, pretending he’s asleep, but one small gesture to signify otherwise, and Endal is on the bed ! He pulls the wheelchair towards Allen’s side, using the purple cord, which hangs from the back for this purpose. Everything that needs opening in the Parton household has a ‘tug’ on it like this; purple is Endal’s favourite colour. Endal will then put up the loo seat for Allen, using his nose and, like a typical male, fails to put it down again after use ! He then helps Allen dress, by opening his underwear drawer and pulling out clean socks and pants. Although there are obvious limits on how far Endal can ‘dress’ Allen, he can master hand him clothes and even manage zips on cardigans.
Downstairs, following Allen on his bottom, Allen will say ‘ cereal ‘ and Endal will open a floor level cupboard and nose out a packet of cereal which he hands to his master in the chair. All this helps Sandra who will be getting herself ready for work as a puppy walker at the CPI centre. During the morning, Allen will either go with Sandra to the centre to talk to other possible dog recipients or he’ll answer Endal's e-mails which average 50 to IOO every day, often as a spin-off from Endal's own website. Together, they also manage basic household tasks such as tidying up the sitting room, turning off lights, collecting the post and putting food back in the cupboard.
For a Walk Outside
While crossing the road, Endal will sit firmly on the pavement if a car is coming, to prevent his master from crossing. Allen's short-term memory means that he can forget to look and the first time that Endal refused to budge, Allen thought he was being difficult. Then he realised. Endal was trying to warn him that a red car had just come round the roundabout. The car had in fact stopped for the pair but another one might have carried on.
I would like to buy these medics for Allen, hope you have them within the expiry date.
Endal at the Shop for Allen.
At the chemist, Allen will often wait outside in his chair while Endal goes in, wallet in his mouth, to collect Allen’s prescription. In fact, Endal is Allen's best medicine as shown when passers-by pause to admire his beautiful golden coat and permanent grin. ' He breaks the ice,' explains Allen. ' Before he came into my life, I wouldn't talk to people. But I'd have to be pretty miserable to ignore someone who likes my dog.'.
Back for lunch and Endal will hand Allen a plate of sandwiches, which Sandra has, made him earlier. In the afternoon, it’s off to the park to play or perhaps catch up on a bit of television. If one of Allen’s legs happens to slip out of his chair, Endal will gently pick up the trousers hem in his mouth and put it back.
Endal getting sick!
Allen’s world was crashing down around him once again. A lame dog would be unable to fulfil his work properly and could even be taken off the CPI programme to be re-homed as a pet. Allen and Endal were in severe danger of losing each other unless they could do something about it. Determined to do something, Allen and Sandra visited several vets, all of whom agreed that strict rest was needed. However, this was difficult as Endal refused to leave Allen’s side. When he left the room, so did the dog. Going upstairs exacerbated the lameness worse ; Allen had always refused a stairlift, preferring to be independent and get up and down on his bottom. So the only option was to shut Endal in the kitchen at night in an attempt to make him rest.
How dare you, lock me in the Kitchen?
In the morning, however, the Partons found that Endal had jumped up and down the kitchen work surface and eaten one kilogram of rabbit food from its bag. ‘ It was as though he was doing it to attract attention and say ‘ How dare you shut me out?’ said Allen. He also had the swing bin lid round his neck, which could have been dangerous. There was only one solution to ensure strict bed rest; and that was the kennels. Allen, in floods of tears, was unable to take Endal himself so Alison, one of the CPI trainers, volunteered.
The Uncertainty
For two weeks, Endal had to stay in a very small cage, which limited his movement. He had one short break and that was to the vet. Meanwhile, Allen admitted that he was acting like a bear with a sore head. ‘ I was angry with everyone and behaving like a child. By the end of two weeks, Endal was still limping. The vet said that he might get better but he might not.’
Endal came back for the afternoon but Allen confessed that he was unable to cope with the uncertainty. ‘ If he came home and then had to go again, because of his health problems, it would have destroyed me. So Heather, the CPI training manager, took Endal to her home for the night and put him back in kennels the following morning.
Neither, however, had reckoned on Endal’s determination not to give up- or Sandra’s. Furious with her husband, this feisty 42 year old ex-nurse told him to stop being so selfish and to think of someone else instead of himself – that person, of course was Endal. She told him, in no uncertain words, that the dog needed him badly at this moment in his life but that Allen wasn’t there for him. It was the best thing she could have said. Unable to drive himself, because of his disability, Allen leapt into action. He asked Alison to collect Endal from the kennels for him and bring him home, where he belonged. Even if he ended up limping for the rest of his life, Allen pledged to himself that he would be there to take away his hurt and pain ; just as Endal would do for him.
Endal came home, his tail wagging energetically with excitement. He and Allen were now a ‘marriage’ for better or for worse. During the next few months, Endal was put on a strict diet of additive-free meat and cereal to help his arthritis along with a gentle exercise regime and a quiet period to heal. Slowly, he has continued to improve and , although Endal has bad days like Allen, the arthritis appears to be under control.
Allen Speaks again, Endal too! Meanwhile, miraculously, Allen’s speech was improving dramatically and his twitching had almost stopped. Indeed, to hear him now, it’s hard to believe that it was almost incomprehensible, despite five years of speech therapy. Neither Allen nor Sandra are certain how Endal achieved this although Allen thinks it was because he desperately wanted to talk back to a dog who obviously loved him so much. Even more touching, Endal talks too. A dog normally only has eight different voice patterns but Endal has twenty. According to the tone, they mean all kinds of things, ranging from ‘ I love you’ to ‘ Can’t we switch television channels?’ (His favourite programmes involve anything with animals in it.)
Allen lifts Endal on to his knee to tickle his huge tummy and demonstrate how he ‘talks’. Endal looks up at his master adoringly and howls with pleasure. The noise is so loud that I half expect someone to know on Allen’s front door to see what’s going on. In fact, the neighbours are used to it. Allen and his dog are well known in Clanfield. Because of his poor memory, which means Allen can usually only remember things for forty-eight hours, he also forgets people’s names and faces. Before Endal came into his life, Allen was too embarrassed to go out much or talk to friends who could remember him even though he had no idea who they were. ‘ Now, they come up to talk about Endal and even if I don’t know who they are, Endal provides a talking point. They stroke and chat which helps me to socialise again.’
Hey Sandra!, Don't part me again from Allen!
Endal himself hates to be parted from Allen. When he and Sandra took a skiing holiday recently, Endal had to go to kennels. As Allen picked him up, he gave him a muted lick but as soon as they got home and closed the front door, he leaped up at him with slobbery kisses. ' Men like us dislike public shows of affection!' jokes Allen.
Endal towards Children, A dog that liked Children
Endal has a kind heart and an uncanny knack for spotting people needing special help. He is particularly good at bringing out autistic children and during a recent trip, made a little boy smile for the very first time. Just as miraculous, he met a five year old girl with cerebral palsy. Allen, scared that Endal might knock her over with an over-enthusiastic lick, asked her to sit up straight in her wheelchair instead of leaning to one side. ‘ She can’t do that on her own,’ said her mother – and then stopped in amazement. Her daughter, desperate to see this ‘miracle dog’ , had managed to ease herself into an upright position so she could cradle Endal in her arms. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
Posting a Letter, A dog really trained to Assist!
Oh what's this red creature standing with opened mouth, master wanna feed it with papers!
The amazing dog posting a letter.
Allen, Sandra, Children and Me- The happy Family
Endal has also helped Allen’s marriage and the relationship with his children Liam, now I6 and Zoe, I5. ‘ They all love him even though Endal very obviously prefers me! He sleeps on my side of the bed, touching my wheelchair with his paw. And when Sandra and I sit on the sofa, watching television, he jumps up between us.’
Sandra, an amazing woman who has put up with more than most wives would cope with, accepts this. ‘ Life will never be the same gain but thanks to Endal, Allen has a second chance – and so do we. Out of 80 seriously injured married men in the Gulf War, only eight marriages survived. Ours is one of them. The children lost their old dad but now Endal has given them a new one.’
“When Mum and Dad got remarried it was such a fantastic day as we finally became a real family again and Liam and I finally got our Dad back,” confirms 19 year old daughter Zoe. “Before Endal arrived Dad never wanted to go out and could hardly talk. He was like a stranger to us and now that has all changed.”
What Endal Taught me!
“He has taught me so much about living life,” adds Allen, while Endal’s brown eyes focus firmly on his master’s every word, “but one of the one greatest lessons is that one should never say never.”
These are a few incidents and photos from Endal's life story written by Allen and Sandra. You can get the full latest version of this International best seller here, Endal: How One Extraordinary Dog Brought a Family Back from the Brink
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IMore coming on the sucessor of Endal, Endal Junior or EJ. EJ has undergone training with Endal. A new yellow labrador puppy who is trained with endal for the last 9 months of Endal's life.
Cu back soon,
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