May 6, 2009

Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric Gives to Canine Cause

For many with limited mobility, a service dog increases ease of access in common situations like pushing the button on an elevator or picking up a set of dropped keys off the floor. With its most recent “Caring Community 12 in 12 Giveaway”, Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric will contribute to an organization that trains these canine companions.

Assistance Dogs International, Inc. estimates the demand for service dogs on a national level is over 1,500 dogs annually. This makes Colorado’s Canine Partners of the Rockies, Inc. (CaPR), the April winner of Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric’s “Caring Community 12 in 12 Giveaway,” an ideal recipient of the award.

“Canine Partners of the Rockies is providing a service that some can’t do without,” said John Ward, owner of Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric. “The dogs they train make life easier for those with mobility issues, and we are proud to support that cause.”

Based in Aurora, CaPR is a nonprofit organization that has been training service dogs since 2002. With a team of about 70 volunteers, CaPR works to prepare dogs for a life of service. Joyce Thielen, a CaPR board member, is a volunteer puppy raiser in the organization, which is often hard pressed for funding.

“We are a very lean organization, so we can use the money to train the puppies,” said Thielen of the donation from Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric.

According to Thielen, the donation will be used to provide more advanced training for dogs and to purchase items like walkers that the dogs must become accustomed to being around on a daily basis.

Typically, CaPR trains Golden and Labrador retrievers, and it takes about 18 months to fully train a puppy for service. Once trained, the dogs become devoted companions to the humans they serve. To qualify for a service dog from CaPR, an applicant must be a Colorado resident with a condition that limits his or her mobility.

Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric has served the Denver/Boulder Metro area for more than 37 years. The company has consistently been rated one of the nation’s top 10 service companies by its customers. They are honored to have achieved the Nexstar Network Select Service Designation, to have been named 2007 City of Golden Rotary Ethics in Business Award winner and also named a finalist in the 2008 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Trust.