Endal: How one extraordinary dog brought a family back from the brink
The remarkable story of Endal, voted ‘Dog of the Millennium’, and how, through his remarkable skills, companionship and unstinting devotion, he gave Allen Parton a reason to live again.Allen Parton was seriously injured while serving in the Gulf War. He lost the use of both of his legs, plus all memories of his children and much of his marriage. He was left unable to walk, talk or write - isolated in his own world. After five years of intensive therapy and rehab, he was still angry, bitter and unable to talk. Until a chance encounter with a Labrador puppy - Endal - who had failed his training as an assistance dog on health grounds. They 'adopted' each other, and Endal became Allen's reason to communicate with the outside world, to come to terms with his injuries, and to want to live again. Not content with learning over 200 commands to help Allen complete everyday tasks like getting dressed and going out to the shops in his wheelchair, Endal gave Allen the ability to start living again, and to become a husband and father again in his own special way. This is the incredible story of Allen, his wife Sandra, and his family. And, of course, Endal.
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ALLEN & SANDRA PARTON
ENDAL
How one extraordinary dog brought
a family back from the brink
WITH GILL PAUL
HarperTrue
HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2009
Copyright © Allen and Sandra Parton 2009
Allen and Sandra Parton assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Ebook Edition © AUGUST 2012 ISBN: 9780007322718
Version: 2018-08-23
To Liam and Zoe.
Also, to the 900,000 servicemen and women in Britain today who were injured serving Queen and country, and in memory of all those who didn’t return.
Contents
During the summer of 1999, a News of the World reporter in Havant, Hampshire, saw something he’d never seen before: a dog using a cashpoint machine. Right in front of him, a yellow Labrador inserted a card into the slot, waited while its owner, a sandy-haired man in a wheelchair, keyed in the PIN number, and then it carefully removed the card and the cash. The reporter blinked hard, wondering if he was hallucinating.
When he spoke to the man, a disabled ex-serviceman called Allen Parton, he found out that the dog’s name was Endal and that using a cashpoint machine was just one of his many amazing skills. The News of the World article that followed seemed to fire the readers’ imagination and soon many other newspapers, magazines, TV and radio shows were vying to find out about this exceptional dog.
They only learned a small part of the story, though. They thought they had found a performing dog, while in fact Endal was a one-off phenomenon, an unsung hero who had a profound talent for helping people in need. It would be a few more years before the full story emerged.
I opened my eyes. The room was fuzzy and the bright overhead lights were surrounded by blurred haloes. Something hard and uncomfortable was round my neck, digging into me.
‘Are you all right, Allen? Glad to see you’re with us again.’ The voice was cheerful. A woman. I could make out her dark shape by the bed.
‘Where am I?’ I tried to say, but my throat felt tight and the words came out like a harsh coughing sound.
‘You’re in Haslar Royal Naval Hospital in Gosport. You had an accident, remember? In the Gulf?’
The Gulf of what? Gulf of Mexico? Gulf of Bothnia? Persian Gulf? Didn’t this woman know how many gulfs there were in the world? And then I remembered. I’m in the Navy. I’m a Chief Petty Officer. I’ve been serving in the Gulf War.
‘You flew back from Dubai overnight and got here this morning. You must be tired after the journey.’
I struggled to sit up and the nurse took my arm to help. I grabbed at the plastic collar round my neck.
‘Better leave that for now until you’ve been checked over,’ she said.
I wanted to ask when I would be seeing a doctor, but my mind went blank on the word ‘doctor’. What were these people called again? The ones with stethoscopes, who told you what was wrong with you?
‘Medical …?’ I stuttered, then a compulsive twitch made my shoulders shudder.
