When he was 15, Owen Lima got behind the wheel of a car after he had been drinking. Soon after, he rolled the car and suffered a serious head injury that hospitalized him with a coma for four months. When he finally woke, he discovered that the injury had done irreversible damage to his brain stem, an obstacle that he has continued to deal with for the past 40 years. Lima’s condition has made it difficult for him to understand others, especially when they speak quickly, and makes him extremely prone to anxiety attacks. Because of the anxiety-inducing nature of his brain injury, Lima is accompanied by Blue, a 10-year-old mixed breed service dog that helps keep him calm. “He knows me better than I know myself,” says Lima of his companion.“He’s got a sixth sense.” One of the biggest issues Lima has faced is finding employment. For the last nine years, he has struggled to find a steady job. “I’ve gone to apply [for jobs] with my dog,” he says of past experiences, “And they laughed at me.”

He also recalls being treated poorly in the workplace or given unfair wages: “I felt like a second-class citizen for a long time.” Lima’s luck finally turned when he and Blue applied for a job at a Lowe’s home improvement store in Regina, Saskatchewan. “We asked what the dog was for, obviously, and then he took us through the story and we went on with our interview process like anybody else,” says store manager Paulo Gallo when asked about the hiring process. “The effect on Owen has been priceless. The engagement he has with our customers and staff, it’s given him a new lease on life, per se.” Now, Lima and Blue both work in the store’s customer service department. During the store’s grand opening in June, the pair was there to greet new customers when the doors opened. Blue has even been outfitted with his own custom-made vest and name tag to match the other employees’ uniforms. Lima says he’s grateful to his new employers, both for the chance to work and for letting Blue tag along: “I’m just so happy to work here, to be treated like a normal person.”

MORE: 4 Incredible Times When Dogs Saved Their Owners and Became Heroes Get our Read Up newsletter how we use your e-mail We will use your email address to send you this newsletter. For more information please read our privacy policy.It was one thing when Amazon was selling physical things, but the game changed the moment it started offering services, too. Ripples were promptly sent flying into all corners of the retail universe with the launch of Amazon Home Services in March 2015, and now that both mom-and-pop hardware shops, as well as national brick-and-mortar chains have had more than a calendar year to react to the changes, a definite trend has emerged.business for sale redlands qld Almost too predictably, that trend hasn’t seen Amazon move an inch from its position, while just about every other retailer scrambles to make up ground they never knew they had lost.business for sale scranton pa

The latest and perhaps biggest domino in home improvement retail to fall to Amazon’s have-it-your-way style of concierge services is Lowe’s and its subsidiary furniture and lighting specialty brand, ATG Stores. Lowe’s announced that it had officially partnered with Porch to provide on-demand installation and assembly to customers who shop at ATG locations. While it might seem like a small move, Jay Rebello, vice president of emerging business at Lowe’s, explained that it’s a necessary step forward for hardware retailers that recognize the changing tides around them.business for sale lund bc “Our partnership with Porch is a valuable asset and another way we provide personalized care and solutions to both our DIY and professional customers,” Rebello said in a statement. business for sale rockhampton queensland

”, we believe customers will find the additional support they need to complete all of their home improvement projects.” Make no mistake about it — the kind of service that Lowe’s, ATG and Porch are looking to offer is being seen less and less as a fringe offering among the consumers they serve. According to a study conducted by The Farnsworth Group, more than a third of millennial homeowners had consulted a home services website, like Angie’s List or HomeAdvisor, within the last 12 months, and that number dips to just 31 percent among 35-to-49-year-olds. In fact, 29 percent of 21-to-34-year-olds indicated that they were “extremely willing” to go to a digital provider for their home services, and a collective 76 percent were at least “somewhat willing.” As usual, Amazon gets high marks for setting a trend that others follow, but the home improvement industry has certainly chosen a good time to collect itself to capture more of the market. Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) found last year that spending on home remodeling projects would increase 4 percent by Q1 2016, with sales of new homes, more often than not bought by young consumers buying their first houses, driving much of the surge.

“Recent homebuyers typically spend about a third more on home improvements than non-movers, even after controlling for any age or income differences, so increasing sales this year should translate to stronger improvement spending gains next year,” Chris Herbert, managing director of JCHS, said in a statement.The sprawling brick-and-mortar store fronts of traditional hardware retail aren’t the place that young or even middle-age landowners first look to for installation or assembly help. And it’s a mad dash for those business to get themselves up to speed. Wayfair, one of the most visible online home goods retailers, was quick to sign its own deal with Porch in April, and even Yelp got into the game with an update that lets users see price quotes for services from local handymen and women. To clear up any confusion over why so many brands are throwing resources at home services, Porch CEO Matt Ehrlichman didn’t shy away from naming the elephant in the room. “If anyone tells you when Amazon enters their space that they were happy, they’re not telling the truth,” Ehrlichman told The Seattle Times.