Valentine’s Day 2023 brought Melissa neither flowers nor chocolate — it brought Healy, a life-changing companion. Approaching three years later, she still calls it the best Valentine she’s ever received.
Their match wasn’t an instant, movie-style moment. It unfolded quietly, in the way real love usually does.
“It didn’t happen overnight,” Melissa says. “I just started realizing I wasn’t doing this alone anymore.”
Before Healy, leaving the house felt heavy. Doctor’s appointments were traumatic and exhausting. Social events took courage she didn’t always have. Melissa had recently been medically retired from the Army as a Medical Service Officer and was still finding her footing in a new job when Healy arrived. Within months, something shifted.
“I felt more confident going to events, doing things,” she says. “He became an easy talking point. People remembered me because of him.”
But the bigger change wasn’t how others saw her — it was how she saw herself.
With Healy by her side, Melissa started pushing herself to do more. She biked. She traveled. She joined a new gym. She built real relationships with neighbors she’d lived near for years but never truly known. At a local diner, interactions became conversations, not transactions. If Healy isn’t with her, people ask where he is.
Love, for them, shows up in the routine. In the quiet reassurance of walking into a doctor’s office together. In the way Healy braces her on stairs when her Addison’s Disease flares. In the steady presence that helped her reduce therapy from weekly to every other week.
“Not just mentally,” Melissa says, “but physically and emotionally.”
There have been big moments, too. France. Switzerland. Portugal. The Five Boro Bike Ride — twice, with a third likely on the horizon. The travel takes leg work: vet visits, airline approvals, endless planning.
“It’s not easy,” she says. “But it’s always worth it.”
Each year, Melissa and Healy mark their anniversary with a tradition of their own — an annual photo shoot with a local, professional photographer. This year’s will be their third, a visual reminder of how far they’ve come together.
Melissa shares Healy is smart, stubborn, persistent and quirky — traits she admittedly says they share.
“He’s hysterical,” she laughs. “He sucks on his tail. He hates the boots I put on him in bad weather. But we all have our quirks.”
Even dating comes with Healy in the picture. He goes on dates, too — observant and discerning, with an uncanny ability to read people. Melissa jokes there’s a lot to live up to with this “male” already in her life.
Through job loss (Melissa’s position was eliminated a few months ago), health ups and downs and uncertainty, Healy has been her constant.
“He’s so amazing,” she says through tears. “I can’t even put into words how much he means to me and the impact he’s had on me. There’s no way to qualify all he does.”
On a holiday built around love, Melissa found the kind that lasts — not flashy or fleeting, but steady, faithful and always by her side.
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Warrior Canine Connection service dog honored with AKC Humane Fund Award
Bea, a 5-year-old Labrador retriever who works alongside U.S. Marine Corps and Air National Guard veteran Buddy Niner of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, is the national winner of the AKC Humane Fund Award for Canine Excellence in the Service Dog category. Read the full story on ConnectingVets.com.
WCC Partner Spotlight: Commvault
At the heart of WCC’s work is its Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training program, which enlists Veterans and Service Members to help train future service dogs. Each dog will eventually support a Veteran, but the impact begins long before placement. Veterans participating in MBTR can also benefit from skills development in communication, confidence building, accountability, emotional regulation and patience to promote an act of service while receiving a therapeutic benefit.
“We’re deeply grateful for Commvault’s partnership and the way they’ve woven Warrior Canine Connection into their culture,” said Rick Yount, founder and executive director, WCC. “Their support allows us to introduce more people to Mission Based Trauma Recovery and to the life-changing work Veterans and service dogs do together.”
Commvault’s support has helped expand awareness of MBTR and deepen engagement with WCC’s mission. What makes the partnership special isn’t just financial backing — it’s how fully Commvault has welcomed WCC into its culture. From employee health fairs and company meetings to major moments like its sales kickoff event, Commvault team members have had the chance to meet service dogs in training, see them in action and experience the power of the human-canine bond firsthand. These encounters often spark meaningful conversations about mental health, resilience and service.
“For Commvault, aligning with WCC is a natural extension of our commitment to embracing the human side of work, making an impact and supporting communities where employees live and serve,” says Martha Delehanty, chief people officer, Commvault.
The partnership also reflects Commvault’s values and the mission of its VALOR Employee Resource Group, which focuses on supporting Veterans and military families.
As the partnership continues, WCC and Commvault remain aligned around a simple but powerful truth: healing often begins with connection — and sometimes, it comes on four paws.
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Unleash the Love This Valentine’s Day
Perfect for classrooms, coworkers, friends or neighbors, these love-themed designs are easy to use. Just download the attached PDF, print at home, cut and share. It’s a fun, thoughtful alternative to store-bought Valentines — and one that’s sure to earn extra tail wags.
Download, print, and spread the puppy love this Valentine’s Day.
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Last Chance to Bid on Ravens’ WCC Cleats
During the team’s Week 12 matchup against the New York Jets, long snapper Nick Moore took part in the NFL’s annual My Cause My Cleats initiative, lacing up a custom-designed pair of game-worn cleats in support of Warrior Canine Connection (WCC). Now, those cleats are creating a second moment — and time is running out to be part of it.
The one-of-a-kind cleats are currently up for auction, with bidding open until February 11. What started at $250 has already climbed to $620, a testament to both Ravens fandom and WCC’s powerful mission behind the design.
Moore chose WCC to honor Veterans and the service dogs trained to support them — a cause he and his wife feel deeply connected to.
“For my wife and I, animals are something that we’re really passionate about, along with the military,” Moore said. “WCC helps animals get trained and gets them in good homes and gives the Veterans and their families the assistance and help they need.”
The cleats, created by artist Alex Andrews of A22 Customs, feature bold imagery that reflects WCC’s work pairing highly trained service dogs with Veterans. Beyond placement, WCC also engages Service Members in its Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) program, where Veterans help train service dogs for fellow Warriors. The process offers therapeutic benefits while building skills like communication, confidence, accountability and emotional regulation — all through an act of service.
Now, fans have the opportunity to own a piece of Ravens history while directly supporting a mission that changes lives. With bidding climbing and the February 11 deadline fast approaching, this is the final call to turn game-day gear into real-world impact.
The Ravens’ season may be over, but thanks to one player — and one pair of cleats — the impact is far from finished.
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Painting with Purpose: One Veteran’s Way of Giving Back
When the two-month program ended, Trey wasn’t ready to step away. He continued participating at WCC’s Philly program site at the University of Pennsylvania — and more than a year later, he’s still showing up.
“I like the premise of it, it’s an opportunity to help other Veterans,” Trey said. “There’s no better group than working with dogs. It’s really cool to know that in the long run these dogs are going to go on to help a Veteran in some shape or form.”
That sense of purpose mirrors what Trey experiences every day with his own service dog, Frankie, a three-year-old German Shepherd. While Frankie was trained through another organization, her impact on Trey’s life has been profound.
“She wakes me up before nightmares start — that has been amazing,” he shared. “She does a million other things for me. I don’t think we’ve ever been apart for more than 15 minutes since I’ve had her. She goes everywhere with me — Eagles games, concerts, just everyday things. My PTSD and anxiety have gone down about 90%. She saves my life somehow every single day.”
Before Frankie, Trey avoided public spaces altogether.
“For a while, I wasn’t doing anything — not going in public or anywhere,” he said. “Now there’s really nothing I won’t do if I have her with me.”
It was through another VA program — an arts and crafts class — that Trey discovered something else unexpected: painting. He decided to try painting Frankie and surprised himself with the result. What began as a therapeutic outlet soon turned into a meaningful way to give back.
Today, Trey paints dog portraits on canvas, primarily using acrylics, and asks only one thing in return: the recipient make a donation to WCC. Over the past year, Trey has painted nearly 25 dog portraits in support of WCC. Several feature WCC dogs, including Tugger, Moon Dog Sarah, and Sam.
“It’s therapeutic,” Trey said. “I paint on an easel, and it just helps.”
His connection to WCC goes beyond the art. Trey helped train Moon Dog while involved in his first MBTR session, and he speaks warmly about the WCC staff who make the experience possible.
“Lisa and Jen (who run WCC’s program at Penn) are just incredible,” he said. “They really go above and beyond to help. I’ve seen them do things you wouldn’t expect them to do for Veterans — that’s another big reason I keep going back, they’re just incredible people.”
WCC Program Director and Service Dog Training Instructor Jennifer Desher has seen Trey’s commitment firsthand.
“From the very beginning, Trey has shown up for Warrior Canine Connection with so much heart and generosity. When he surprised Lisa and me with a portrait of Sam II and Sarah Lu after his first eight weeks with us, we were truly blown away — not just by how perfectly he captured them, but by the thoughtfulness behind the gift. Beyond his incredible talent, Trey consistently looks out for his fellow Veterans, offering rides and support whenever needed and his care for our pups is just as genuine. We’re incredibly grateful to have him as part of the WCC family.”
Through paint, patience and a deep belief in WCC’s mission, Trey continues to give back — one dog portrait at a time.
Curious about Trey’s work or interested in a custom piece? Trey is taking on additional requests and is happy to connect. You can reach him directly at soupcans11@gmail.com.
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Fur-ever Valentines: Melissa & WCC’s Healy
Their match wasn’t an instant, movie-style moment. It unfolded quietly, in the way real love usually does.
“It didn’t happen overnight,” Melissa says. “I just started realizing I wasn’t doing this alone anymore.”
Before Healy, leaving the house felt heavy. Doctor’s appointments were traumatic and exhausting. Social events took courage she didn’t always have. Melissa had recently been medically retired from the Army as a Medical Service Officer and was still finding her footing in a new job when Healy arrived. Within months, something shifted.
“I felt more confident going to events, doing things,” she says. “He became an easy talking point. People remembered me because of him.”
But the bigger change wasn’t how others saw her — it was how she saw herself.
With Healy by her side, Melissa started pushing herself to do more. She biked. She traveled. She joined a new gym. She built real relationships with neighbors she’d lived near for years but never truly known. At a local diner, interactions became conversations, not transactions. If Healy isn’t with her, people ask where he is.
Love, for them, shows up in the routine. In the quiet reassurance of walking into a doctor’s office together. In the way Healy braces her on stairs when her Addison’s Disease flares. In the steady presence that helped her reduce therapy from weekly to every other week.
“Not just mentally,” Melissa says, “but physically and emotionally.”
There have been big moments, too. France. Switzerland. Portugal. The Five Boro Bike Ride — twice, with a third likely on the horizon. The travel takes leg work: vet visits, airline approvals, endless planning.
“It’s not easy,” she says. “But it’s always worth it.”
Each year, Melissa and Healy mark their anniversary with a tradition of their own — an annual photo shoot with a local, professional photographer. This year’s will be their third, a visual reminder of how far they’ve come together.
Melissa shares Healy is smart, stubborn, persistent and quirky — traits she admittedly says they share.
“He’s hysterical,” she laughs. “He sucks on his tail. He hates the boots I put on him in bad weather. But we all have our quirks.”
Even dating comes with Healy in the picture. He goes on dates, too — observant and discerning, with an uncanny ability to read people. Melissa jokes there’s a lot to live up to with this “male” already in her life.
Through job loss (Melissa’s position was eliminated a few months ago), health ups and downs and uncertainty, Healy has been her constant.
“He’s so amazing,” she says through tears. “I can’t even put into words how much he means to me and the impact he’s had on me. There’s no way to qualify all he does.”
On a holiday built around love, Melissa found the kind that lasts — not flashy or fleeting, but steady, faithful and always by her side.
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Mission Matters: Bob Ouelette, Warrior Canine Connection
Lisa Williamson sits down for the latest Mission Matters with Army veteran Bob Ouellette. Bob is now involved with Warrior Canine Connection and shares how he came to join this amazing organization, as well as the great work they are doing with veterans who help train service dogs for other veterans. Listen to the Wreaths Across America interview here.
Celebrating the Impact of the Central Maryland VTC
Founded in 2015 by Senior District Court Judge Halee F. Weinstein, the program has helped hundreds of Veterans address misdemeanor charges through mental health treatment, peer mentoring and strong community support.
“As part of volunteering to train our service dogs in training, Veterans learn the importance of having patience with not only the dogs, but also with themselves,” said Kayla Prince, WCC Veteran training program coordinator. “We work on ‘rewarding more to correct less,’ which encourages focusing on positive moments in training and in life.”
Since launching MBTR in partnership with the Central Maryland Regional VTC, 85 Veterans have participated, contributing a total of 894 hours in WCC’s service dog training programs. Their work has supported 126 WCC service dogs in training who have participated in the program to date.
“The partnership with the Veterans Treatment Court and Warrior Canine Connection has been instrumental in helping veterans to heal and get their lives back on track,” said Baltimore City District Court Senior Judge Halee F. Weinstein. “Through helping to train service dogs, the veterans are learning new skills while also helping themselves and others, which benefits everyone in the program.”
For many Veterans, working with the dogs becomes a meaningful part of their routine — offering structure, building confidence and inciting laughter on tough days. Trainers often notice positive changes before the Veterans themselves do.
WCC is honored to partner with the court and play a small part in its success and impact on Veterans. We’re grateful for everyone who helps make this work possible — Judge Weinstein, the court team, mentors, the VA, United Way of Central Maryland, public defenders, prosecutors, community partners, and most of all, the Veterans whose commitment has helped advance the training of several WCC dogs.
Here’s to an extraordinary decade — and to even more lives changed in the years ahead.
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Proof in the Paws: Research Backs Power of Service Dogs
It’s something Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) has long seen in action: working with service dogs can make a meaningful difference in a Veteran’s healing. Now, research from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and the University of Maryland (UMD) is backing that up with hard data, showing that service dog training can improve health outcomes — and may even slow cellular aging for female Veterans with post-traumatic stress (PTS).
Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the study was conducted from 2018 through 2022 and tracked female Veterans as they participated in an eight-week service dog training program. Researchers collected physiological data at the start, middle and end of the program, including heart-rate variability, saliva samples and continuous monitoring of both participants and their dogs. The goal? To see how hands-on interaction with service dogs affects stress, wellbeing and overall health.
WCC supported the hands-on portion of the study through its Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) program, which helps Veterans learn to train service dogs for their fellow Warriors. While the control group viewed training videos, Veterans in WCC’s eight-week MBTR program worked directly with a service dog, building consistency and trust by partnering with the same dog each week. WCC also managed the monitoring equipment throughout the study, enabling the UMD and FAU research teams to focus on data collection and analysis.
The study also involved support from multiple researchers and collaborating institutions who helped design the methodology and capture the physiological data that made these findings possible. Together, the teams at FAU, UMD and WCC demonstrated how meaningful, hands-on service dog training through MBTR can be for female Veterans’ mental and physical wellbeing.
This hands-on approach not only generated valuable data but also highlighted meaningful impacts for participants. Mar Leifeld, assistant director of MBTR programs at WCC, who helped coordinate the organization’s involvement, noted one significant outcome: “We saw participants who might not usually seek out services for themselves get involved just to help with the study. Many have continued long after the research ended, forming lasting connections through our programs.”
The results make clear what WCC has always known: service dog training isn’t just a program — it’s a pathway to resilience, connection and lasting health benefits. And thanks to this collaborative research, the broader Veteran community can now see the measurable impact for themselves.
To learn more about WCC’s MBTR programming, visit www.warriorcanineconnection.org.
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Ravens’ Nick Moore Laces Up for Veterans and Service Dogs
When the Baltimore Ravens took the field for their Week 12 matchup against the New York Jets, long snapper Nick Moore carried more than team pride into the game — he carried a cause close to his heart. As part of this year’s NFL My Cause My Cleats initiative, Moore selected Warrior Canine Connection (WCC), using his custom-designed cleats to honor Veterans and the WCC service dogs who support them.
Ravens Nick Moore MCMC
The cleats, created by artist Alex Andrews of A22 Customs, stood out on the turf with bold imagery that reflected WCC’s mission. Moore, who has long felt a deep connection to both animals and the military community, said the choice was an easy one.
“For my wife and I, animals are something that we’re really passionate about, along with the military,” Moore said. “WCC helps animals get trained and gets them in good homes and gives the Veterans and their families the assistance and help they need.”
WCC pairs highly trained service dogs with Veterans and engages Service Members in its therapeutic Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training. The program teaches Veterans how to work with service dogs in training for their fellow Warriors. In the process, Veterans can also benefit from skills development in communication, confidence building, accountability, emotional regulation and patience to promote an act of service while receiving a therapeutic benefit. Moore’s participation in My Cause My Cleats brought national visibility to that work, especially as millions tuned in to watch the Ravens–Jets game on CBS and Paramount+. For Andrews, bringing Moore’s vision to life was a meaningful opportunity.
“To create a pair for My Cause My Cleats is more than painting or designing, it’s helping athletes amplify the foundations, charities and projects that matter most,” Andrews said. “It’s bigger than football. Knowing these stories get showcased on the biggest stage in the game makes every pair feel like a real opportunity to spread awareness and make an impact.”
Moore’s one-of-a-kind cleats will be auctioned off this month, with proceeds benefiting WCC.
For WCC, Moore’s choice was both an honor and an invaluable moment of visibility. And for Moore, it was a chance to use the NFL platform for good — highlighting the strength, resilience and healing that come from the human-canine bond.
As the league’s annual campaign continues to shine light on important causes across the country, Moore’s support serves as a reminder of how one player — and one pair of cleats — can help bring greater awareness to a mission that changes lives.
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