Do you know the story of Taffy the cairn terrier, Australia's first union-registered dog?
In the 1970s Taffy became Geoff King's loyal four-legged apprentice at the postmaster-general's department.
Mr King worked as a telecommunications tradesman, running telephone cables through crawl and wall spaces.
"I bred and trained [Taffy] to do a job that a normal person would take half-an-hour to do; he would do it in one-and-a-half minutes," he told ABC Radio Adelaide's Mornings program.
"Taffy was classed as a working dog by the taxation department.
"I actually had to take him up to the tax office to prove what he was doing."
Taffy's union call-up
But Taffy was no top dog on worksites.
While running cables for Adelaide's Yatala Prison, Mr King's apprentice was questioned by the site controller.
"I was asked if Taffy was a union member," Mr King said.
A union delegate himself, Mr King replied: "No, but I am."
He was told the site was a closed shop and there could be a walkout if Taffy continued to fill the role of a tradesman.
"That same night I rang up our union secretary," Mr King recalled.
"[Taffy] was proposed, seconded and got his own union ticket."
And just like that, Taffy became the first card-carrying canine of the telecommunications union.
Exposed to asbestos
Mr King and Taffy retired in 1977.
At the time the risk of asbestos exposure was greatly unknown and Taffy soon developed lung cancer.
A vet advised there was no cure and so Mr King made the difficult decision to have Taffy euthanased.
"It broke my heart it did.
"We never knew it at that time how dangerous asbestos was.
"I've got so many fond memories with him; he was loved by many people."
Taffy and Cuddles, another one of Mr King's cable-running dogs, were honoured by the RSPCA for their work.
