Endal: retired from active duty

Endal, the Dog of the Millennium, has retired and will now concentrate on rest and helping to guide his apprentice, EJ, in ways to assist his human partner.

In the run-up to the Cold Wet Nose Show, I was let in on a secret. There would be a special announcement at the end of the day, and hankies were recommended. The surprise? Allen Parton would be announcing the retirement of Endal, the much-feted Dog of the Millennium.

There can be few people who haven’t heard of Endal. But, just in case someone has read their copy of K9 Perspective online on an internet cafe on Mars, I’ll give a quick summary of this remarkable dog’s achievements.

When Allen Parton suffered a serious head injury while serving with the Royal Navy in the first Gulf War in 1991, he came close to losing his life. In fact, he irrevocably lost half of it: he had no recollection of getting married, the birth of his two children, and, even today, 50 per cent of his history is a complete blank.

Not only was his memory affected – and still is affected – he’d also lost his speech, his ability to walk, and the very core of who he was. The depression was debilitating. In his own words, Allen says, “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! I was beyond human help. I defended myself from people by being horrible and rude - that way I could be left alone.”

But while accompanying his wife, Sandra, to Canine Partners one day, where she was a puppy socialiser, one dog did something no other living being had managed to do: break down the barriers that Allen had put up and made him smile again.

That dog, Endal, went on to be partnered with Allen and the rest is history. He has received countless awards for his intuitive assistance to Allen, putting him in the recovery position when needed, working out how to use a cash point and chip-and-pin machine without being taught, and, more importantly, giving Allen his life back and dragging him from the dark cocoon he’d been trapped in. “He has taught me to love, laugh and live again,” says Allen.

But now Endal is in need of some help himself and it’s time for him to hang up his jacket and take life a little easier. After over a decade of dedication to Allen, Endal will be retiring, and puppy EJ – Endal Junior – will take over. Endal will remain with Allen and will be EJ’s mentor, but, at the age of 12, he can start to take life slower and let his apprentice do the hard graft.

Far from being a sad time, Allen is overjoyed that at last Endal will officially, become HIS dog, rather than belonging to Canine Partners. “It’s time for me to give something back to him in his retirement,” he says. “I owe him everything.”

Sadly, the official announcement of his retirement at the Cold Wet Nose Show never happened, as Endal was rushed to the vet the day before the event. Allen explained, “You read about it nearly every day in the papers where a life-long partner finds their other half has had an affair, hidden their out-of-control buying or even worse. Well, my canine partner has hidden something from me over the last few years that rocked my world to the very foundations. On the Friday before Cold Wet Nose, Endal went seriously lame on his left leg and I quickly arranged for him to see the vet that morning.”

On examination, it was discovered that Endal’s left elbow joint was swollen. “Endal has always had OCD (osteochondritis dissecans), which was one of the reasons I originally took him on, and I was aware that it would in later life most probably manifest itself as arthritis, but with the right regime of a raw food diet, weight management and appropriate exercise, we did all right – or so I thought.”

The vet found that Endal’s front right elbow joint was even more swollen and he was now compensating by bringing his back legs forward. “The vet said the words no pet owner ever wants to hear: ‘If you were to ask me now to put him to sleep, I would support that request, as now it is a matter of quality of life against pain management.' Life has thrown me a few bad balls but this one I didn't see coming,” says Allen, who, with wife Sandra, was completely thrown into a state of shock at the news. “Life is not without hope though and there is always the positive prognosis that a dog can find a comfortable plateau and maintain a comfortable lifestyle with the right care and management.”

First up, Endal has to lose weight, to reduce the impact on his joints, and the right level of pain relief must also be found. Trips upstairs are now banned, as are most of his future public engagements. The only plan is, in Allen’s words, “To take every day as it comes and value every second we have together.” Allen is hopeful that, with the right regime, Endal could be around for months, if not years, yet. He’s focusing on the positive – giving Endal the retirement of his dreams – and training new pup on the block, EJ.

A gorgeous yellow Lab, Allen scoured the country for two years, in search of his next canine companion. It was important to Allen that the dog belonged to him, and not the charity, but EJ will be accredited with Canine Partners once trained, so that he can enjoy the rights that are afforded to assistance dogs. Sandra, an experienced puppy parent for Canine Partners and also Puppy Operations Manager for the charity, assessed EJ and the family was supported by Lab expert Jo Coulson, who recommended EJ’s breeder, Joy Venturi-Rose, who specialises in working gundog lines.

“EJ is stunning,” says Allen proudly. “He has a lovely personality and he came and settled right under the wheelchair when we visited. He picked up the car keys, too, but there was just something in his eyes. It was something like deja-vu from when Endal and I met,” says Allen. “Something just felt right.”

Although he’s called EJ – Endal Junior – the little pup isn’t expected to be an Endal mark-two. “I’m not looking for him to be Endal, though ‘the big guy’ will be an excellent role model,” says Allen. Whether Endal will let himself take a back seat remains to be seen. Even when he was recovering from an op to remove a large lump on his side recently, Endal wouldn’t switch off. “When I left him at the vet’s, it was the first time in 11 years that I felt disabled,” Allen says. “When he was recovering in his bed when I got him home afterwards, I dropped his pill pot and he immediately got up and brought it to me.”

From now on, dropped items will have to stay dropped – until little EJ takes over Endal’s tasks. Allen is realistic that EJ may never be as intuitive as Endal – for example, not only dragging him to safety if he has a fit in the tub, but also pulling the plug to empty the bath of water – but he is optimistic that the little fella will be a worthy partner. “When I looked into his eyes at the breeder’s, I said to him, ‘I have got to trust my next 12 years to you.’ And I do. Endal has saved my life many times; I hope EJ will do the same.”