Redmond’s Crane Aerospace & Electronics, a Crane Co. segment, has sponsored the teaming of a wounded Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran with a service dog through Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).
The sponsored veteran, Army Specialist Andrew Pike, 23, and his new companion, Yazmin, will finalize their training with a public graduation ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 21 in Santa Rosa, Calif. at the Center for Spiritual Living.
At the graduation ceremony, Crane will be formally recognized as Army Specialist Pike and Yazmin’s sponsor and will have the opportunity to meet the pair.
Army Specialist Andrew Pike served with the 82nd Airborne in Baghdad and was wounded when a sniper’s bullet paralyzed him from the waist down. Canine Companions for Independence matched the specially trained black Labrador Yazmin with Pike to assist him in his everyday life and provide companionship for him and his family. Yazmin will provide assistance pulling Pike’s wheelchair, picking up dropped items out of his reach, and opening doors.
Crane Aerospace & Electronics provided the funds to help train both Yazmin and Pike to be compatible with one another. The team training is a two-week event that assisted Pike in the proper care and handling of his new assistance dog. At the training session, Pike was trained in the nearly 40 commands that his dog can respond to.
CCI is close to the heart of Alan Howell, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing for Crane Electronics Group. Howell currently volunteers as a puppy raiser for two different CCI dogs.
“It really is a labor of love to be a part of the training of these animals. But seeing them placed with deserving veterans like Specialist Pike makes all the effort worthwhile,” said Howell. Crane supported Pike and Yazmin through its philanthropic
outreach program known as the Crane Fund for Widows & Children.
Crane Aerospace & Electronics is a major supplier of systems and components for critical aerospace and defense applications. Product and service offerings are organized in solution sets, and include Landing System Solutions, Sensing and Utility Solutions, Fluid Management Solutions, Power Solutions, Microwave Systems Solutions, Electronic Manufacturing Solutions, Microelectronics Solutions and Cabin Solutions. Products are manufactured under the brand names ELDEC, General Technology, Hydro-Aire, Interpoint, Keltec, Lear Romec, P.L. Porter and Signal Technology.
For more information on Crane Aerospace & Electronics, visit www.craneae.com, and for Crane Co., visit www.craneco.com.
Crane Co. is a diversified manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products. Crane Co. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CR).
