Honoring Veterans, One Name at a Time

Did you know every service dog and service dog-in-training at Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) is named in honor of a Veteran? While most know WCC for our unique animal-assisted therapy program Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) and placing service dogs with Veterans, we also celebrate Veterans through our namesake program.  

The namesake program, which began in 2013, is a way to honor and celebrate Veterans by saying their names and telling their stories. We receive name nominations from the public, though we are currently only accepting female name nominations due to the large number of male nominations we already have waiting.  

Naming a service dog in training after a Veteran means a lot to the namesake families, especially knowing that the dog named in their honor will be serving Veterans and the Veteran community. Here are just a few of the testimonials we have received from namesake families: 

“Oh, wow. That’s my father. So happy to see Chappy carrying on service to our country.” 

“Thank you SO much for this announcement and designation. We are all so touched at this honor for our father and know that William will be an inspiration for both he and his companion.  

“I am excited, and I’m sure Steve is too, that our dad is also going to have a puppy named after him. He was an animal lover, just like our mom.” 

“Omg! This was the last thing I expected to see this morning. I’m his big brother. We served together. Thank you so much. This means so much to our family.” 

“We served together in the Corps him, his brother, my best friend Casey, all holding it down for Hollywood Florida, like it was our own battalion. He was loud, wild, and had more energy than a six pack of rip it. We miss him.” 

“Thank you so very much. I am overwhelmed by your organization’s honoring me by naming one of your Warrior puppies after me. Coming at the holiday season this is especially meaningful as I spent Christmas 1970 in Da Nang 54 years ago. I appreciate the very nice write up on Facebook along with the picture of me and my namesake.  The picture was taken in Da Nang in 1971 and was a favorite of my parents.” 

“I feel it to be such an honor that my grandmother’s name is connected to such an important helpmate for a Veteran of today.” 

Not only is it impactful to the namesake family, but the Veterans who end up being placed with a WCC dog also find it powerful. They often reflect about how much it means that the dog they are placed with is also carrying the name and story of a fellow Veteran. 

If you have a female name nomination you would like to submit, please fill out this form: https://warriorcanineconnection.tfaforms.net/4899776 
###