Endal was a Labrador retriever who was a companion dog to retired Royal Navy chief Alan Parton.
Alan had numerous head injuries due to which he had memory problems, became disabled, had numerous speech difficulties and an inability to estimate the distance of objects. Endal also had his injuries, he suffered from pain in his front legs and many wondered if he was even capable of working as a companion dog. However, Endal began his companion dog career in the 90s, and won numerous awards for his incredible success.
Endal was very intelligent, he was able to master sign language and in that way he brought Alan the things he was looking for. He also knew how to pull the plug out of the tub in case Allen fainted while bathing before going for help. And he was able to call an ambulance by pressing the emergency keys on the phone. On one occasion, he realized that his owner had a problem approaching an ATM to withdraw money, and he did it for him. As Alan said in a statement a couple of years ago, the only problem after that is that Endal later wanted to do the same for other people when he went to the bank.
On one occasion, Alan was knocked out of his wheelchair by an unscrupulous driver who fled the scene of the accident and Endal dragged him from the street to safety, took the blanket out of the overturned wheelchair, covered his owner and then ran to a nearby hotel for help!
Because of all the above, Endal won numerous awards, as well as the title of “Dog of the Millennium”, and the PDSA gold medal for courage and dedication to duty, which is the highest recognition given to animals. Also the Victorian Cross to save the life of its owner.
Endal was born on December 13, 1995, and died on March 13, 2009. Even today, he is considered one of the most decorated and best service dogs in history. Endal was also the inspiration for the creation of the organization “Hounds for heroes”, whose goal is to provide service dogs for injured military heroes as well as people from the emergency services.
Today, Allen has another Labrador named EJ (Endal Junior) next to him, in whose training Endal participated during his life. Let’s remember this little hero and let’s not forget that heroes don’t always have to walk around on two legs.