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Warrior Canine Connection enlists recovering Warriors in a therapeutic mission of learning to train service dogs for their fellow Veterans.
  • How We Help Warriors
    • Mission Based Trauma Recovery
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  • Home
  • How We Help Warriors
    • Mission Based Trauma Recovery
    • Program Details
    • Program History
    • Research
  • Service Dogs
    • Purpose Bred
    • Puppies
    • Puppy Cam
    • Dog Applicants
    • Adopting a Release Dog
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Individual Volunteer Opportunities
    • Corporate and Group Volunteer Opportunities
    • Hold a Community Event
    • Become a Puppy Raiser
    • Become a Puppy Sitter
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Board of Advisors
    • Our Staff
    • Current Job Openings
    • Partners and Sponsors
    • Financials
    • Locations
    • Contact
  • WCC Healing Quarters
    • Construction Cam
  • Newsroom
    • Warrior Stories
    • Stories of Impact
    • WCC in the News
    • Press Releases
  • Shop

Adopting a Release Dog

Although all of our Golden and Labrador Retrievers are carefully bred and trained to become service dogs for Veterans, not all of the dogs in the Warrior Canine Connection program will choose the path of a working dog.

When we determine there are health or temperament issues that warrant release from the Service Dog Training Program, we look for homes where our dogs will live the life of a well-loved member of the family. Priority is always given to Veterans, active-duty service members, and Gold Star Families.

Please note that Release Dogs are not available on a first-come, first-served basis. We carefully screen our potential adoptive families and base our decisions on a number of criteria, including:

  • The dog must not be left alone for more than five hours per day.
  • Initially, you must live within three hours of WCC HQ in Boyds, MD.
  • An interview is required at our Healing Quarters in Boyds, including all members of the family who will have regular contact with the dog.
  • If there are already dogs in your home, we will request that you bring them with you for a dog introduction with the Release Dog.
  • You will not use the dog as a service animal.
  • You assume all financial responsibility for the dog.
  • For pet adoptions, we have a suggested donation from $550 to $2,000 depending on the level of training the dog has received. This will be applied to cover a small portion of the veterinary and training costs associated with raising a WCC-program dog.

If you are interested in applying to adopt one of our dogs, please complete this online application.

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Contact Us

14934 Schaeffer Road
Boyds, MD 20841

(T) 301.260.1111
info@warriorcanineconnection.org

Warrior Canine Connection
is a 501(c)(3)
Nonprofit Organization
# 45-2981579

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