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Yellow Labrador Retriever Endal has played a big part of Allen Parton's life for much of the past decade.

Allen, from Cranfield near Emsworth, has been a wheelchair user since he suffered a serious head injury in the Gulf War in 1991.

The injury robbed him of his memory - he had no recollection of being married or the birth of his two children. He could not could not read, write, walk and talk and he had mood swings that upset and frightened his family.  They also lost their navy home when Allen was medically discharged.

Man's best friend

The arrival of Endal changed his life.

Endal was trained by Petersfield-based Canine Partners For Independence (CPI), which trains dogs to help give disabled people back some of their independence.

Endal and Allen

He learnt to help with the practicalities of life - putting a cash card into any machine, pick goods off supermarket shelves, hand over money to bus drivers and stop Allen from crossing roads when unsafe.

Having the unconditional support from Endal helped Allen cope with life emotionally and physically - his life and family relationships got back on track and he renewed his wedding vows with his wife.

In 2001, Endal even saved his Allen's life after he was run over by a car and knocked unconscious.  He put his owner into the recovery position, covered him with a blanket, pushed the mobile phone close to his face and raised the alarm.

He subsequently became the first animal to be awarded the Gold Medal for Animal Gallantry from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA).

He has also achieved celebrity status - winning a gold Blue Peter badge and becoming the first dog to fly in a British Airways cockpit.

EJ

Now Endal has recently been retired because of a serious illness and severe arthritis.  Despite working through his pain, Endal is 12 and has to reduce the amont of work and impact on his joints and bones.

EJ

EJ - Endal Junior - is under-going training to continue where Endal left off.  After a two year search to find a suitable puppy, Allen is now helping train EJ to carry out the same problem-solving work as Endal did.

But what does Endal make of the young pretender?  "It's working quite well, " explains Allen, "It's almost as if Endal saw EJ walking though the door and thought 'right, I don't have to hold it together any more.'"

He even had a lie in on the first day of retirement, rather than coming to help Allen get up: "It's nice that he's doing what he wants to do."

"I've never known him not being by my side.  I always said that I'd look after him as he's looked after me.  I owe him an unrepayable debt.  The power of animals in our lives is amazing - it's a very powerful medicine."