Endal and Alan - an amazing story

Endal’s owner Alan writes the following amazing and poignant report about the relationship between him and his dog:

“Endal ” Like a shinning Star”

Following a serious Head injury suffered while serving in the Royal Navy during the Gulf war and after three years in Hospital and rehabilitation the sum of my

condition was that - I could not recall getting married, the birth of my children and I had lost about 50% of my history. (none of which has ever come back!). My speech was awful and my behaviour bizarre. My memory then and now lasts about two days and I’m dependent on a wheelchair for mobility.

Because of my own self pity, anger and bitterness I was stuck in the darkest

soulless place a person can ever be - void of any hope!!. Without the emotions Love, Hate, Happiness or Sadness I was beyond human help, even out of the reach of my loving wife and two young children. I defended myself from people by being horrible and rude, that way I could be left alone.

One Dog cut right through that defensive armour and saw the real Allen Parton.

Like a shinning star Endal came bounding into that dark place and touched my very heart. He just said to me with those Doggie eyes “hold onto my tail and I’ll pull you out of here, at your pace and with no conditions”. He has to this day never stopped pulling. His unconditional love has healed so many of the hurts, his mischief making brought laughter into my saddest days and his zest for life has rubbed off on to me.

He never judges me, he never looks away because of my condition and his aiding of me when I at my weakest makes us both an invincible team. I can put my hand out to my side day or night and he is always there. He has taught me to love, laugh and live again.”

Endal the Service Dog

This is the amazing story of Endal, a collegue of mine. I admire him greatly!

“Endal (b. 13 December 1995) is a male Labrador retriever in England whose abilities as a service dog and as an ambassador for service dog charitable work have had considerable news media coverage.

Among other distinctions, Endal has been described as “the most decorated dog in the world” (including “Dog of the Millennium” and the PDSA’s Gold Medal for Animal Gallantry and Devotion to Duty, the highest award available to an animal) and the most famous dog in the UK has been filmed by over 300 film crews from around the world and has a number of world “firsts” as an assistance dog to his credit.

Endal is a pedigree yellow Labrador retriever. Unusually, Endal suffered from birth from the lifelong debilitating joint condition osteochondrosis in both of his front legs, which brought his suitability for assistance dog training into question. However, with the help of a specialized diet and controlled exercise, Endal qualified as a fully operational assistance dog. He became the service dog for disabled ex-Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer Allen Parton in the late 1990s.

Endal’s fame has led to his taking on the role of an animal ambassador for service dog related training and charities.

Allen Parton

Allen’s head injuries from the Gulf War are serious. They include 50% memory loss and inability to reliably make new memories for more than around 2 days (for example, not recognising his neighbour of 7 years duration), physical disability - he is wheelchair-bound - speech and word difficulties, inability to perceive items that cannot be seen, and inability to safely judge speed and distance of traffic. For a considerable time after partnering Endal, he was unable to speak and was limited to basic sign language.

Work as a service dog

Endal is able to respond to over one hundred instructions as well as a very large number (”hundreds”) of signed commands. He can retrieve items from supermarket shelves, operate buttons and switches and load and empty a washing machine. He is able to put a card into an automated teller machine, retrieve the card when the process is complete and return the card to a wallet.

“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’d never speak again, but Endal just dragged the speech out of me.” Able Magazine.

The above Able Magazine article continues by noting that “Over the years, Endal has learned to pull the plug out of the bath before going for help if Allen falls unconscious whilst bathing, and is able to put Allen in the recovery position, hit the emergency button on the telephone and summon help … Endal has learned how to use cash and chip and pin machines, as well as helping out with the shopping, opening train doors, operating lifts, unloading the washing machine and more typical doggie skills like getting the paper.”

Parton states that Endal’s ability to intuit his wishes and needs showed when they first met, and was responsible for helping him recover from the initial deep depression and trauma caused by his disability. As well as intuiting the operation of a cashpoint (ATM), Endal came again to national attention in a 2001 incident, when Allen was knocked out of his wheelchair by a passing car.

In this incident, Endal pulled Parton, who was unconscious, into the recovery position, retrieved his mobile phone from beneath the car, fetched a blanket and covered him, barked at nearby dwellings for assistance, and then ran to a nearby hotel to obtain help.”

lazy day in the armchair

I definitely think that each dog should have their own armchair. Alright, Underdogs like my daughter might have to rest in baskets… I allow her during daytime to have a snooze in my armchair, when I want to stretch my legs under the kitchen table. But night time is armchair time for me!

Puppy Mills

Today I want to write about “Puppy Mills” which are a very “inhumane” way of breeding us.

“Puppy mills are nothing new. These mass dog-breeding operations have been around for decades. They continue to thrive because they prey on unwitting consumers who are smitten by too-cute-for-words puppies in pet store windows and on fancy websites.

But behind the friendly facade of the local pet shop, the pastoral scenes on a “breeder’s” website, or the neighborhood newspaper ad, there often lies a puppy mill. These canine breeding facilities house dogs in shockingly poor conditions.

Life is particularly bad for “breeding stock,” dogs who live their entire lives in cages and are continually bred for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever becoming part of a family. These dogs receive little or no veterinary care and never see a bed, a treat or a toy. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are commonly killed, abandoned or sold to another mill. The annual result of all this breeding is hundreds of thousands of puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems. Read more about puppies and breeding dogs who suffered at puppy mills at the Survivor Stories page »

Puppy Mills: An Endless Cycle of Cruelty

Several hundred thousand puppies are shipped cross-country to be sold in pet shops, but many are sold via newspaper classifieds or Internet sites and are often accompanied by false claims such as, “We’d never sell puppies from a puppy mill” or promises that the puppies are “home raised,” farm raised,” or “raised with kids/grandkids.” The ploys of the puppy mill are designed to dupe a well-intentioned family into buying a puppy and keeping the engine of cruelty working overtime.”

Good job I had my puppies at home and could bring them up properly… Read some of the survivor stories here>>>

The HSUS

Breeder dogs in puppy mills are often forced to spend their entire lives caged in shocking environments.

the frog

“The Frog” (acrylics on canvas, 70cm x 50cm)

The other day I was told by Alpha Su that black dogs are hardly possible to be painted, because they’re black. Well… I always thought that Black Is Beautiful!
Anyway, she transformed me on this painting into a yellow lab. Why not, I don’t mind, as long as I get a bone for modeling for her.

pooch pouch handbag for mini fashion dogs

Read this!! Good job I am far too large for a fashion handbag… these humans seem to get crazier by the day. I feel very sorry for those tiny creatures (even if I cannot stand their high pitch barks!).

Pet owners warned over latest celebrity craze - the pooch pouch handbag for mini fashion dogs
By GEORGE WEYMAN - 20th February 2008

All the rage: A woman takes her dog for a walk in a ‘puppy purse’

Animal charities are warning pet owners to keep their dogs on a lead after the latest in a range of carry cases for small dogs was launched.

Dog owners can now carry their pet in a small fashion bag, slung across an arm and hanging loose from the waist, in a style made popular by Hollywood celebrities Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson.

But the bags, which cost as little as £22, could cause serious distress for dogs, the RSPCA has warned.

It has joined animal welfare charity Four Paws in condemning the bags, which have helped create a boom in small dogs like Chihuahuas and toy Yorkshire terriers.

“A dog is not an accessory and people should not be influenced by fashion,” an RSPCA spokesman told the Daily Express.

“The RSPCA is concerned about the practice of carrying dogs in handbags as some celebrities do. It could actually become distressing to the animal.

“A dog’s welfare should always be of primary importance.”

The charity warns the growing demand for miniature puppies so popular with celebrities has fuelled a cruel and illegal puppy smuggling trade from Eastern Europe.

The puppies are often bred in filthy conditions before being taken to street markets, it claims.

The abolition of EU border controls means there are no checks on whether dogs have been inoculated or are old enough to be transported.

And the dogs are often traumatised by the experience, with as many as 30 dogs a time being crammed into the back of car boots in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland for a painful journey to Britain.

Animal welfare charities warn the latest trend in dog handbags can only increase the demand for small pups.

Designer carriers are considered de rigueur for celebrity dog owners and such upmarket labels as Gucci, Hermes and Louis Vuitton report a roaring trade in the pooch ‘purses’.

Rent a dog?

Can you imagine renting a dog?
I know that my Alphas have to PAY other humans if they can’t look after us. So this is the other way round… Quite unfair and sad for the K9s, I think!
“American pet rental service is cruel and treats dogs like a ‘timeshare’ say animal charities”

By BEN CLERKIN - Last updated at 16:04pm on 20th April 2008

A dog is supposed to be for life - but can now be for only a weekend or even just a day thanks to a new pet rental service.

Dog lovers who do not have the time or space to keep a full-time pet can hire a part-time one with Flexpetz, an American company setting up in the UK.

But the new dog borrowing scheme has been heavily criticised by animal charities who say it is cruel because renting out dogs like a “timeshare” only serves to confuse and upset them.

The dog borrowing scheme has been heavily criticised by animal charities who say it is cruel

However, such is demand for the service that 100 people in the UK signed up to the members-only scheme before it was even recently launched, after proving popular in the US.

The new London branch currently has five dogs, with most of the animals retired show dogs, which have received full obedience training, and are checked by vets every three months.

They are also fitted with tracking collars in case they are lost.

Members pay an annual fee of £50, a monthly subscription of £49, and £30 per visit by “their” dog.

The fees cover leads, bowls, beds and food which are supplied for every trip.

Marlena Cervantes, a behavioural therapist who launched the service, said that ideally the dogs are shared by only two or three “owners”, and live in a kennel the rest of the time.

“Our members are responsible in that they realise full-time ownership is not an option,” she said.

“They range from a five-year-old girl whose parents work full-time to a 65-year-old woman who’s not physically able to walk a dog every day.

“The demand has been incredible and although we only have five dogs at the London branch we are going to significantly increase that number.

“And we are seriously considering opening more branches across the UK.

“We screen all our members first to make sure they are suitable. We are looking for commitment and compassion and if people do not measure up we do not let them join.”

But the idea of sharing a dog between multiple “owners” has been questioned by animal welfare charities.

Kennel Club Secretary, Caroline Kisko, said: “It is with deep concern that the Kennel Club has heard about FlexPetz.

“The concept of renting out dogs as a ‘timeshare’ equivalent is detrimental to the dog, leading to all kinds of confusion for the animal.

“It also raises many questions about the kind of person who is making money at the dog’s expense, what happens when the dog gets older and no one wants it, and what happens in the situation where people who are renting the dog don’t want to give it back?

“It is also of concern that different people will have different ideas about house rules, leading to even further confusion for the dog when it is not given any consistency with which rules to follow.”

There are already many ways in which dog lovers can get access to dogs, even if they don’t have time or space to own one, she added.

“These include volunteering to walk dogs from a local rescue centre, or helping dog related charities which run schemes to send their dogs ‘out’ for the weekend to socialise while they are in training, such as Hearing Dogs for Deaf People,’ she said.

“These dogs need our support first - and there’s no charge to people for the privilege.”

Dogs Trust behaviour advisor Vicki Horsley said: “One critical element of responsible ownership is the commitment to care for a dog for the whole of their lives and not to regard them as disposable.

“Rent-a-dog schemes simply encourages a throw-away attitude that so often leads to dogs ending in rehoming centres.

“The instability that would come from frequent changes of home is likely to lead to chronic stress and anxiety, which could present itself in a variety of health and behaviour problems.”

Pet charity Blue Cross animal behaviourist Ryan Neile said: “When a dog is passed around from one person or home to another, they may become confused, distressed and unpredictable.

“We will often spend months working with such dogs to repair the damage of the past.”

wild garlic soup surprise

Hi all,

I’m back again. Sometimes one needs a break, and life has been quite busy recently. But now spring seems to be here for good, and today we ventured into the woods, collecting some wild garlic and having a lovely swim in some really muddy pond. Hah! I needed that!

Alpha Su then made a wild garlic soup and tried to smoothe it in a blender. Of course, the whole stuff was spitting around in the kitchen, everyone screaming and cursing, and just Mali and me licking the delicious soup from everywhere on the floor and the kitchen units. What a delight!

Lucky and Flo

Lucky and Flo

These two collegues work as sniffer dogs for the Malaysian police. I was most impressed and very worried about their welfare when I read this article:

Malaysian mob orders $30k hit on two Labradors
KUALA LUMPUR (Malaysia)

Meet “Lucky” and “Flo”. Reportedly the Malaysian crime syndicate has put a RM100,000 (US$29,240) bounty on their snouts. In the past month, the two Black Labs have led police to over $3.5 million worth of illegal, pirated and child-pornographic DVDs.

L & F are specialized sniffer dogs, the only two in the world trained to detect the scent of polycarbonate, a chemical used in optical discs (DVDs). The pooches, trained in Ireland, were sent to Asia by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in an effort to uncover the piracy syndicate which costs the film industry an estimated $6.1 billion yearly.

Authorities have taken the threats on the dogs’ lives very seriously and have notched up security. “We move them around [to keep them safe],” says Nor Hayati of the MPAA. “They are in a very secure place.”

MPAA president Dan Glickman says, “The dogs are some of the greatest employees we have here at the MPAA.”

Wouldn’t it be interesting if someone would also train us dogs to sniff out fake designer bags, watches, shoes and jewelry? We K9s could help not only the design industry but would also embarrass the pretenders and the show-offs who love to flaunt their imitation jewelry at high-profile parties!