Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:31 pm Post subject: HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR THREE JUDGES WHO ARE...
Allen Parton & EJ - Founder and Vice Chairman of Hounds for Heroes
(also a fomer Labrador forums member from many years ago)
In 1991, Allen Parton was a Chief Petty Officer serving in the Royal Navy during the Gulf War. He had a very promising military career ahead of him and a wife and two children at home in Portsmouth. Then a tragic war time incident changed his life completely. Allen suffered a severe head injury which left him with considerable physical and emotional trauma. It wiped out his memories and left him unable to walk, speak or write. He couldn’t even remember getting married or the birth of his children. He spent the next five years in hospital, struggling to come to terms with his disabilities.
Then Allen was partnered with Endal, a yellow Labrador assistance dog. Since then, Allen’s confidence has returned to such an extent that he cannot stop talking about how much Endal transformed his life. Endal helped to save Allen’s marriage and helped to rebuild a relationship with his children. He become independent and Sandra no longer has to be on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, allowing her the freedom and peace of mind to live her own life again.
Endal could respond to over one hundred commands and could also problem solve. One day when Allen was struggling to reach up to withdraw money from a cashpoint machine, Endal instinctively jumped up, took the money and card in his mouth and passed it to Allen. On another occasion, Endal demonstrated his ability to react in an emergency. When visiting Crufts in 2001, Allen was knocked out of his wheelchair by a speeding car and left unconscious in a car park. The driver was in a deep state of shock, so Endal took charge and pulled Allen into the recovery position, covered him with a blanket and fetched his mobile phone. Getting no response Endal then left Allen’s side and went to a near by hotel and raised the alarm.
This amazing partnership starting Allen thinking about setting up a new charity to help the disabled of the Armed Forces and Emergency Service. Allen says "it has been a dream of mine to have a charity that works specifically for these people who routinely put their lives in danger. Hounds for Heroes is our chance of giving people the same chances that I have had. We owe them a great debt and this is our way of saying thank you"
Sadly Endal died in Spring 2009 but the partnership keeps going and Allen is pictured with EJ (Endal Junior) who is the first dogs to be trained under the auspices of Hounds for Heroes.
Last edited by Littlelab on Wed Aug 17, 2011 5:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
____________ Natalie x
LAB LINK RESCUE Co ordinator and Forum Administrator for my sins
Jack, Molly & Maia, watched over by Tara Banana from the Bridge
Beverley Cuddy - Editor of Dogs Today Magazine and trustee of Tailwaggers Club Trust
Dogs Today was launched in 1990 and Beverley Cuddy was appointed as launch editor. It was part of the large Daily Mail stable of publications but sadly only the proprietor (who was a great dog lover) and Beverley saw its true potential.
In 1992 Beverley organised a successful MBO and became Publisher, Editor and majority shareholder of the new company Pet Subjects Ltd. Daily Mail proprietor Viscount Rothermere very generously sold Beverley the title for £1 and then invested in the new company becoming a shareholder. The title had been Viscount Rothermere's idea and he shared Beverley's vision for a magazine that campaigned hard for man's best friend.
Dogs Today has always been at the forefront of reform. The magazine aims to be ethical and thought-provoking and to appeal to intelligent caring dog lovers worldwide who want to improve things for dogs. Their latest campaign, Don’t Cook Your Dog has united the canine world.
Beverley has had Bearded Collies since she was a child and her latest one is called Oscar. She also has a Dogs Trust rescue Springer called Tess.
Beverley had her own column in the Mail on Sunday for eight years and has regularly appeared on TV and radio programmes with a doggie theme. She is Chairman of Tailwaggers Club Trust, an ancient and small doggie charity that helps pet owners in distress.
Joe Inglis - Vet for One Show TV, Managing Director at Pets' Kitchen
Veterinary Expert, This Morning ITV
Joe is known for his appearances on the highly successful BBC 1 programme ‘Vets in Practice’. The series followed his life and career through thick and thin, starting with ‘Vet School’ whilst at university, and afterwards on ‘Vets In Practice’ when he qualified as a vet. The programme scooped the highly coveted ‘Best Documentary Award’ at the TV Awards in 1999 and attracted large viewing figures, transmitting for 11 years!
Joe has also been the resident vet on BBC 1’s ‘Blue Peter’, making regular appearances both in the studio and on location. He wrote for the web site, featured in the Blue Peter Magazine and has even taken part in the show’s annual pantomime.
Joe is an accomplished writer, including “It Really Does Happen to a Vet” (1999) and regular columns. He has written a series of articles for The Mail on Sunday in their Pet Supplement and forewords to a number of books. He is now concentrating his efforts into children’s fiction.
He has fronted a number of corporate campaigns and videos, and hosts skills and career workshops around the country for aspiring vets. He is asked to judge pet competitions, both big and small, and makes regular appearances for the Kennel Club, to encourage responsible pet ownership. He is also helping to promote The Missing Pets Bureau.
As well as an animal lover, he has a great interest in ski-ing, surfing and mountain boarding (for which he held the title of UK Champion), and he developed an innovative mountain board ‘No Sno’. He makes regular personal appearances and is in great demand for his knowledge of animals. He successfully combines his work as a veterinary surgeon (in Oxfordshire) with the demands of the media and his other interests.
Joe runs a successful business www.vetskitchen.co.uk and is going to donate samples of his food to all our 1st Prize winners
Last edited by Littlelab on Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:17 pm; edited 5 times in total
____________ Natalie x
LAB LINK RESCUE Co ordinator and Forum Administrator for my sins
Jack, Molly & Maia, watched over by Tara Banana from the Bridge
Yes I am waiting for confirmation of one more, he is on holiday at the mo.
____________ Natalie x
LAB LINK RESCUE Co ordinator and Forum Administrator for my sins
Jack, Molly & Maia, watched over by Tara Banana from the Bridge
Once I have the last judge confirmed it's all systems go
____________ Natalie x
LAB LINK RESCUE Co ordinator and Forum Administrator for my sins
Jack, Molly & Maia, watched over by Tara Banana from the Bridge
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[IMG]http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/LucyJK/_DSC7456.jpg[/IMG]
really bring a lump to hear this type of story 
