Long before the era of the internet and smart devices, in a time when telephones were fixed and wired, it took a lot of time and effort to keep homes and businesses connected.
However, a single creative individual and his loyal dog companion completely transformed the process, making it much easier and quicker. Now, fifty years later, their contributions are finally being acknowledged.
Geoff King, a telecommunications tradesman, trained his Cairn Terrier named Taffy to run telephone cables through narrow spaces.
A task that normally took a tradesman hours to do was now done in mere minutes.
Geoff King and his Cairn Terrier Taffy established telephone cables through narrow spaces. Credit 9News.
Mr King and his wife Dulce knew Taffy was not a normal dog instantly.
“My proudest moment was when we first laid eyes on this tiny puppy, who was just six weeks old,” Mr. King shared.
“Dulce came and helped train Taffy, and that was the part I enjoyed the most.”
The pair helped connect some of Adelaide’s most iconic buildings. Credit: 9News.
Working as a team, they helped to establish connections between some of Adelaide’s most renowned structures, including the historic Queen Victoria Hospital, the ABC building, and even the high-security Yatala Prison.
While working at Yatala Prison, Taffy faced the challenge of not being a union member in a closed-shop setting.
The prison controller even threatened to walk out.
Therefore, Mr King took Taffy to a union meeting held at Trades Hall later that night.
“The controller said, ‘We’ve got a problem here. We’ve got Geoff and Taffy here to do some work but Taffy doesn’t have a union card up at Yatala. Should we give him one?’ Everyone raised their hands,” King said.
And just like that, Taffy became the first dog to be a member of the union.
“That union card allowed him to go anywhere – he couldn’t be refused entry,” King said.
“Once he got that card, he could go anywhere at all. He was officially a working dog.”
Taffy was the union’s first card carrying dog. Credit: 9News.
Telstra’s group owner of field services said it was the changing of the times.
“It was a different time, in the age where we were moving into telephones from the telegraph.”
“Nowadays, the work required is even more different, with over 2000 of our technicians laying cables in Telstra’s new office in Adelaide.
It’s in the new office where Mr King’s and Taffy’s services are recognized, and their story lives on.
“The saddest day in my life was when poor Taffy passed away,” Mr King said. “It happened back in 1978, a year after we both retired from doing the job that we loved.”
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