Jaafar Hassan, who goes by “Hassan,” recently joined WCC’s service dog training six-month internship program.
Hassan brings a unique perspective to the position, as he spent nine years on active duty in the Air Force as a military working dog handler, before joining the Reserves. During that time, he worked with three different dogs as a K9 handler, helping to provide security, explosives detection and he even worked as part of President Obama’s security detail at one point.
As he will tell you, making the transition from military working dogs to service dogs has been a big, but wonderful, change.
“The qualities of a great military working dog is completely different than a service dog,” said Hassan. “The dog with the strongest prey drive is the best for military support — that’s the trait you don’t want in a service dog; the last thing you want is a dog that wants to chase animals, dogs, etc. The positive reinforcement, rewards, — those are the common shared themes. These dogs are great at working, it’s just in a different way. I’m learning a lot… I thought I had a great understanding of dogs, but I am learning so much. The best part is working with Veterans.”
Hassan and his wife, Tsegie, who is an occupational therapist, live in Silver Spring, Maryland.
WCC also welcomed new Service Dog Training Instructor Andrea Celeste to its team. 
Previously a teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools, Andrea and her therapy dog, Grizzly, have done extensive work with students with special needs. She says the benefits of Grizzly interacting with nonverbal students had such a powerful impact on her, she knew long-term she wanted to become a service dog training instructor.
“It’s just so rewarding to see the benefits and rewards that a dog can bring to the faces of people working through challenges,” says Andrea.
After teaching for two years, Andrea attended the Bergin University of Canine Studies and became a certified service dog training instructor.
She says the new position is her dream job and a perfect fit for her.
“Dogs just have this innate ability to connect on a deeper level with all people and they really are truly are man’s best friend. They love unconditionally and want to be with you. To see the first-hand benefits of these purpose-bred dogs trained to alert to stress, provide compassion is extremely rewarding to watch and to be a part of. I feel so fortunate to be able to give back to those who have given so much to us all.”
Born and raised in Bethesda, Maryland, Andrea graduated from the Univ. of Maryland with her Bachelor’s in Special Education and a Master’s in Severe and Profound Disabilities.
Please join us in welcoming both of them to the WCC team!
Warrior Canine Connection trains service dogs for veterans — and there’s a puppy cam
March 1, 2019 – Who better to train service dogs for veterans than other veterans?
That’s exactly what Warrior Canine Connection does. Since the beginning of its mission in 2011, 4,000 service members — many struggling with symptoms of PTSD — have helped train puppies to eventually serve as service dogs. Read the complete story on ConnectingVets.com here.
Warrior Canine Connection Restores Barn to Help More Veterans
February 28, 2019 – Since moving to Boyds in 2016, the Warrior Canine Connection has continued helping military veterans and their families heal their wounds, both visible and invisible. Watch the full story on Montgomery County Media’s website here.
Warrior Canine Connection begins multi-million-dollar barn project
February 27, 2019 – BOYDS, Md. – Nonprofit – Warrior Canine Connection, hosted hard hat day which gave locals an inside look at their rebuild project for a new barn to train canines in. Watch the LocalDVM.com story here.
National Construction Charity Donates $265,000 to Fund Renovation of Historic Barn to Serve as New Headquarters for Veterans’ Support Group
AGC Charities Inc., the charitable arm of the Associated General Contractors of America, donated $265,000 today to fund a new “National Healing Quarters” for Warrior Canine Connection. The funds will help cover the cost of renovating a historic dairy barn in Boyds, Maryland to serve as the new headquarters for the group that provides therapy for veterans with invisible wounds like PTSD and service dogs for other wounded veterans. Read the complete story here.
New Faces at WCC
Jaafar Hassan, who goes by “Hassan,” recently joined WCC’s service dog training six-month internship program.
Hassan brings a unique perspective to the position, as he spent nine years on active duty in the Air Force as a military working dog handler, before joining the Reserves. During that time, he worked with three different dogs as a K9 handler, helping to provide security, explosives detection and he even worked as part of President Obama’s security detail at one point.
As he will tell you, making the transition from military working dogs to service dogs has been a big, but wonderful, change.
“The qualities of a great military working dog is completely different than a service dog,” said Hassan. “The dog with the strongest prey drive is the best for military support — that’s the trait you don’t want in a service dog; the last thing you want is a dog that wants to chase animals, dogs, etc. The positive reinforcement, rewards, — those are the common shared themes. These dogs are great at working, it’s just in a different way. I’m learning a lot… I thought I had a great understanding of dogs, but I am learning so much. The best part is working with Veterans.”
Hassan and his wife, Tsegie, who is an occupational therapist, live in Silver Spring, Maryland.
WCC also welcomed new Service Dog Training Instructor Andrea Celeste to its team.
Previously a teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools, Andrea and her therapy dog, Grizzly, have done extensive work with students with special needs. She says the benefits of Grizzly interacting with nonverbal students had such a powerful impact on her, she knew long-term she wanted to become a service dog training instructor.
“It’s just so rewarding to see the benefits and rewards that a dog can bring to the faces of people working through challenges,” says Andrea.
After teaching for two years, Andrea attended the Bergin University of Canine Studies and became a certified service dog training instructor.
She says the new position is her dream job and a perfect fit for her.
“Dogs just have this innate ability to connect on a deeper level with all people and they really are truly are man’s best friend. They love unconditionally and want to be with you. To see the first-hand benefits of these purpose-bred dogs trained to alert to stress, provide compassion is extremely rewarding to watch and to be a part of. I feel so fortunate to be able to give back to those who have given so much to us all.”
Born and raised in Bethesda, Maryland, Andrea graduated from the Univ. of Maryland with her Bachelor’s in Special Education and a Master’s in Severe and Profound Disabilities.
Please join us in welcoming both of them to the WCC team!
Seth & Murphy: Constant Companions
“Even on a bad day, it’s hard not to look at Murphy and smile.”
“I look at Murphy and (except when he gets into the cat’s food) generally just experience a feeling of happiness,” says Seth.
An engineer in the Marine Corps Reserves for six-plus years, including a year-long (2012-2013) deployment in Afghanistan, Seth says he compartmentalized a lot of things happening around him — to not let his emotions get in the way of him doing his job.
After he got home, he says he finally had time to go over everything that happened — the good and bad. Seth says he had some difficulty adjusting back to life outside of Afghanistan and that his body and brain were still in “deployment mode.”
He thought a dog might help. Seth applied for a companion dog through Warrior Canine Connection and was matched with Murphy, a Golden Retriever from the Valor Litter, who has since become his best friend and constant companion.
“Having Murphy around has made it gradually easier for me to be more open about what I experienced, which has been really cathartic in helping me move on from my deployment/time in the Marine Corps,” says Seth. “Murphy serves as a constant reminder of what is “good” in my life and has helped to keep a smile on my face when he was dealing with some of the negative things I had experienced. Even on a bad day, it’s hard to look at Murphy and not smile — he means so many things to me, it’s hard to put it in words.”
First-Time Puppy Parent Ryan Holland Relishes Experience
“Being a Veteran, I understand the difficulties of transitioning from military life to civilian life,” says Ryan. “It’s difficult as-is and to add a layer of PTS, TBI or a physical disability adds another difficult challenge to the mix. I wanted to give back to my own community — there’s a definite need among Veterans. People see the coming and going to and from deployment but the transition back to civilian life is really hard.”
Ryan became a puppy parent to service dog in training, yellow Labrador Retriever Joseph. The two hit it off immediately, along with Ryan’s chocolate Lab, Jackson.
“There was water splashed all over my house, lots of wrestling and some extra dog hair but we’ve both bonded with Joseph pretty quickly,” says Ryan. “Joseph is a really unique dog with a great personality. I’ve learned a lot during the service dog training process, and it’s helped shape how I treat my own dog, too. I’ve also learned from Joseph – to slow down, be patient and even how to communicate with my own dog better.”
Best of all, Ryan works on the Anschutz Medical Campus, where he serves as the Director of Pre-Award Contracting Services for the University of Colorado, so he’s within just a stone’s throw of regular puppy parent training sessions and other WCC-related needs.
Golf Apparel for Good: Linksoul Donating 10% of Line to WCC
Like golf? Like to shop? Combining the two is helping to raise funds for Warrior Canine Connection — thanks to Linksoul. Based in Oceanside, close to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Linksoul is a premier golf apparel company committed to supporting Service Members and Veterans by donating a portion of its proceeds to WCC and other Veterans charities.
Through the WCC/Linksoul partnership, which is showcased in this video, the company is donating 10 percent of its proceeds from the “Make Par Not War” line to WCC. So far, the partnership has provided more than $16,000 to help support our
mission of providing highly trained service dogs to Veterans.
Marine Corps Veteran Joshua Stueve (pictured to the right), an avid golfer, dog lover, and Linksoul brand ambassador, is featured in the WCC/Linksoul partnership ads and helped forge the partnership through his friendship with Linksoul founders John Ashworth and Geoff Cunningham. Stueve has since become a member of the WCC Board of Directors, joining other great leaders who volunteer their time to support the organization.
“Connecting Linksoul with WCC was such a natural fit,” said Stueve. “Both are filled with extremely talented and good-hearted people, who first and foremost seek to make a positive impact on their respective communities. With Camp Pendleton just down the road from the Linksoul Lab in Oceanside, it was a perfect opportunity to “Link Souls” and I am proud to have played a small role in the matchmaking.”
“It’s always been a goal for us to find a way to give back,” said Geoff Cunningham, co-founder and art director, Linksoul. “When we met Josh and learned about the WCC, it all just made perfect sense.”
Linksoul prides itself on “creating products we value, with people we love, for the good of our families and our community,” with an eye on support for Veterans.
Please join us in thanking Linksoul for its generous support of WCC and other Veterans organizations across the country.
Facebook Watch: 365 Days of Love
January 19, 2019 – What does love mean to you? That’s the question the new Facebook Watch series titled “365 Days of Love” hosted by Sophia Vergara aims to answer. The show, which kicked off on January 1, focuses on many subjects and, just recently, showcased WCC’s mission in an episode titled “The Pups That Saved the Veterans.” The episode was very well received, to-date, it has more than 215,000 views! Watch the video…
“A Day in the Life”
December 17, 2018 – What does “A Day in the Life” look like for Rick Yount, WCC founder and executive director? Find out in this article in The Native Influence.