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Prize-Winning Dogs Set High Standard for Reliability
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Candice and Chiper, her reliable pet. | Chiper, a four-year-old German Shepherd mix who lives in Oviedo, Fla. as a seizure-alert dog for a college student, will receive a custom pet playhouse valued at $5,000 as the grand prize winner in the JELD-WEN Most Reliable Pet Contest. The winner from an animal shelter is Lilly, a cheerful four-year-old English bulldog who uses a wheelchair. Her current home, the Humane Society of South Mississippi, will receive a $5,000 contribution for its building fund.
JELD-WEN, the world’s leading manufacturer of reliable windows and doors, is a member of the National Council of the Housing Industry — the Supplier 100 of NAHB.
Chiper escorts 21-year-old Candice Hernandez to classes, warning her when she is about to have a seizure so that she can lie down or find a place to rest. Chiper also stands guard if paramedics are required to assist Candice and has even been known to open push-button hospital doors.
As a teen, Hernandez says she worried about simple activities like going to school, performing in the local choir or going to the prom. Now, “Chiper has made my life fun again, and I trust her with my life. She goes with me everywhere, even on dates with my boyfriend."
Chiper will walk down the aisle with Hernandez when she marries her boyfriend on Nov. 12.
Chiper’s grand prize, a one-of-a-kind, two-story playhouse, features pet-sized durable, low-maintenance JELD-WEN® Premium Vinyl Collection windows and JELD-WEN® AlternaPlus® exterior wood composite doors, knows as the “No-Dent Doors.”
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Lilly, JELD-WEN Most Reliable Pet as nominated by a shelter. | The playhouse was designed by one of the nation’s premier residential architects, Alan Mascord Design Associates of Portland, Ore., and built by John Gilbert of Gilbert Construction in Woodway, Wash.
Lilly was partially paralyzed after being run over and left without medical attention. Two years later she lives at the shelter of the Humane Society of South Mississippi in Gulfport as a community goodwill ambassador, running about in her custom-made mini-wheelchair.
“Children who use wheelchairs are particularly delighted to see Lilly’s big, grand smile as she scoots up to give them a friendly lick,” said Eric Aschaffenburg, chairman of the Gulfport society’s building committee. “We can always rely on Lilly to raise everyone’s spirits.”
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