WHEN Gulf war veteran Allen Parton was injured in a hit and run accident, it was his four-legged friend Endal who came to his rescue.
Endal placed the former Royal Navy officer - whose war time injuries left him unable to talk, walk and with severe memory loss - in the recovery position and covered him with a blanket before fetching help. For this act of heroism Endal was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal (the animal version of the George Cross) for bravery and devotion to duty. Endal has been voted the Dog of the Millennium and quite recently was a awarded a Canine Lifetime Achievement Award.
Last week Allen and Endal travelled to Cheltenham and Gloucester to raise the awareness of Canine Partners in support of Sarah Harper-Little, Canine Partners' new community fund-raiser for the Gloucestershire region.
One of the ports of call on this whistle stop tour was at the Cheltenham-based BPE solicitors. BPE solicitors, based in St Jame's Square, Cheltenham, is one of the local firms supporting Canine Partners to help in it's work training dogs as helpers to disabled people. Each dog costs £20,000 to train and support throughout it's lifetime.
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| The staff at BPE Solicitors, a legal firm that is set to support Canine Partners financially as well as helping with publishing and newsletters to spread the word about their work. |
They are able to carry out more than 100 everyday tasks from opening the door, emptying a washing machine and a range of emergency procedures. BPE managing partner, Malcolm Price, said: "We're all familiar with Guide Dogs and what they can do for blind people, but these dogs are just amazing!
"We've decided to support Canine Partners not just financially but by helping them with publishing and newsletters."
During the tour of the firm's library, Endal stopped to choose a book. Allen said: "I'm sure he was checking his rights to bigger dinners!"
