Warrior Spotlight: Angela Bonanno Finds Healing Through Service and Dogs
Angela Bonanno is the kind of person who makes you wonder if there’s anything she doesn’t do.
She’s a mom, a wife, a dog lover, an X-ray and MRI tech and a Coast Guard Veteran. And now, she’s training to become a Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) Team Leader and preparing to raise her first Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) service dog in training.
It’s a life full of movement and purpose—traits that first led Bonanno to military service. But behind her drive and positivity are the lasting, invisible wounds she carries from that time. Her journey from injury to healing has been long—and ongoing—but throughout it all, a deep commitment to service has remained her compass.
“9/11 played a major role in my decision to join the Coast Guard,” she says. “I was in college when the towers fell, and it changed everything. A month later, I was in the recruiter’s office enlisting—I felt a strong pull to do something that truly mattered.”
Bonanno served for six years, including aboard the U.S. Cutter Jarvis and at Sector San Francisco, where she worked as an electrician. But it was during her time at sea that everything changed. A military sexual trauma and traumatic brain injury altered the course of her life—and her career.
She was discharged in November 2007. What followed was one of the darkest chapters of her life.
“I felt completely lost,” she says. “The first year out was brutal. I didn’t know where to turn. I had no direction, and I was in pain—emotionally and physically.”
Then she found the Wounded Warrior Project.
“I started with baby steps,” she says. “Just showing up to events, meeting other Veterans who got it. That connection saved me.”
WWP introduced her to a supportive community—and to Warrior Canine Connection. Dogs, as it turns out, had always been part of her story.
“I grew up with Labs. After my first therapy stay at the Menlo Park VA in 2010, I met some of the service dogs on site and just fell in love,” she recalls. “There’s always been a dog in my life helping me stay grounded.”
In 2024, Bonanno participated in WCC’s Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) program at the Menlo Park VA, where Veterans help train future service dogs for fellow Warriors.
“I didn’t realize how much I was missing until I started working with the WCC dogs. My mood shifted. I felt calmer, more present. I knew then—I wanted to raise one of these dogs.”
That dream is now coming true. Angela has completed puppy-sitter training and will soon become a WCC Puppy Raiser. She and her family are preparing to welcome Rudy, a service dog in training, into their home. Her 3-year-old daughter Gianna is equally excited.
“She’s obsessed with dogs,” Bonanno laughs. “She makes report cards for the Puppy Raisers and brings them to training sessions. She’s going to be the best helper.”
Her husband, Robert, a firefighter, is fully onboard. WCC puppies have even visited his fire station.
As if that weren’t enough, Bonanno is also training to become a WWP Team Leader, which will allow her to host peer-support events and help guide other Veterans on their own paths to healing.
“I’ve been through it—I am still going through it,” she says. “But now I know how to navigate it, and I want to help other Veterans find that light too.”
That’s exactly what WWP and WCC have given her: belonging, purpose and hope. Whether through raising service dogs, mentoring others, or simply showing up, Bonanno is committed to continuing her mission of service.
“Service was what led me into the military,” she says. “And service is what’s helping me heal. This is the next chapter, and it’s a good one.”
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Visitors to the Jimmy Stewart Museum’s recent 30th anniversary celebration in Indiana, Pennsylvania, came for the nostalgia, movie memories and a touch of Hollywood history—but it was a four-legged guest who stole the spotlight. The surprise star of the event? Warrior Canine Connection’s (WCC) Jimmy, a Labrador Retriever and service dog in training named in honor of the iconic Jimmy Stewart.
June marks Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month, a time to recognize the invisible wounds many Veterans carry—and to reaffirm our commitment to supporting them in their healing journeys.
Sheila Jackson
Vivian Leven
When Army Veteran Jonathon Kohl woke up in a hospital bed in 2013, doctors told his parents he would likely never walk again. He had survived a helicopter crash while serving in Afghanistan—just four months into his deployment and three years into his military career. The traumatic brain injury he sustained, along with other physical wounds, erased his memories and changed the course of his life forever.
BOYDS, Md. – Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) is proud to announce continued support from the Healthcare Initiative Foundation (HIF) through a grant to advance its Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) program. This year marks a decade of partnership between WCC and HIF—a collaboration that has helped bring innovative, community-based mental health programming to Veterans in Montgomery County since 2015. Through HIF’s sustained support, WCC has expanded its reach and impact, offering Veterans a powerful path to healing through the human-animal bond.
Please join us in welcoming Sue Watson to Warrior Canine Connection’s pack! A dedicated advocate for Veterans and a WCC Puppy Raiser, Sue brings a deep passion for service and a commitment to making a difference.
