ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Warrior Canine Connection is a nonprofit organization that enlists recovering veterans, called “Warriors,” in a therapeutic mission of learning to train service dogs for their fellow veterans. Click here to check out the full story from WLOS 13 News.
Warrior Canine Connection happily invites current and past graduates, their families, our amazing volunteers and supporters to join us for WCC’s Class of 2024 virtual ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 21.
For those who wish to continue the celebration from online to in-person, WCC will also host a post-graduation ceremony reception later that afternoon. Our graduating teams and extended pack will enjoy good food, live music, barn tours, WCC store items for sale, a photo booth, fun activities and plenty of dogs!
The virtual graduation ceremony will take place online Saturday, Sept. 21 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The post-graduation reception, including a special barn dedication ceremony, will follow at WCC’s Healing Quarters in Boyds, Maryland at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Registration for the reception is required and will open Aug. 21 on the WCC website—stay tuned for the link and more details! This promises to be a fantastic celebration, we hope to see you there!
Funding to Support WCC’s Mission Based Trauma Recovery Training Program
BOYDS, Maryland – Veterans Help Group (VHG) has generously donated $10,000 for a second consecutive year to Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) to help support placement of skilled service dogs with wounded Veterans, and the organization’s unique Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) program. The MBTR program enlists Service Members and Veterans to help train service dogs for fellow Warriors as part of their own treatment for invisible wounds of war.
“Warrior Canine Connection deeply appreciates the continued support from Veterans Help Group,” said Rick Yount, founder and executive director, Warrior Canine Connection. “Their unwavering dedication, care and resources are truly making a difference in the lives of Veterans and their families, and we are immensely thankful not only for their support but to have such an amazing partner in them.”
WCC’s MBTR program teaches Veterans how to work with service dogs in training, which fulfills a time-honored military tradition of Warriors helping Warriors. In doing so, the Veteran 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.
Matt Sauerwald, President of Veterans Help Group, stated: “We think Warrior Canine Connection is one of the best veterans’ nonprofits in the country and are privileged to be able to support them again. We also look forward to helping educate their veterans about Social Security and VA disability benefits in a forthcoming newsletter.”
Veterans Help Group was founded more than 15 years ago to advocate for disabled Veterans in securing their disability benefits.
For more information, please contact Beth Bourgeois, Warrior Canine Connection, at beth.bourgeois@warriorcanineconnection.org or 719-216-3206.
About Warrior Canine Connection
Warrior Canine Connection is a pioneering organization that utilizes a Mission Based Trauma Recovery model to empower returning combat Veterans who have sustained physical and psychological wounds while in service to our country. Based on the concept of Warriors helping Warriors, WCC’s therapeutic service dog training program is designed to mitigate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other challenges, while giving injured combat Veterans a sense of purpose, and help in reintegrating back into their families and communities. For more information, visit www.warriorcanineconnection.org.
About Veterans Help Group
Veterans Help Group is committed to improving the quality of life for Veterans and their families by aggressively advocating for the favorable and timely resolution of their disability claims. The group is able to serve Veterans in all 50 States. For more information, visit www.veteranshelpgroup.com.
We are privileged to introduce you to U.S. Navy IT3 Keisha Peterson-Anderson, whom we met through Warrior Canine Connection’s (WCC) Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training program in partnership with Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). We are honored to share her Warrior story.
U.S. Navy IT3 Keisha Peterson-Anderson was working at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001—the day American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked and crashed into the building, killing all 64 people on the plane and 125 people in the Pentagon.
Two weeks would pass before Keisha received official confirmation that Kevin, a dear friend and colleague who worked in another side of the building, had died in the horrific tragedy.
“I did what most people do, you grieve and try to move on,” said Keisha. “But I wasn’t really grieving, I was in shock. I got up and went to work every day … I look back now and wonder how I was functional. I literally went to work the day after 9/11.”
Keisha served 8 years and 10 months of active duty before separating from the Navy in late 2001. She remained in the D.C. area and became a government contractor working in various organizations in the IT and intel field. But emotionally, Keisha says she was just ‘going through the motions.’
After some persuasion from a friend, Keisha attended a Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) event. She felt great camaraderie with fellow brothers and sisters in arms, and attended multiple functions, including an Odyssey (retreat), Soldier Rides, and other local activities and outings. Slowly but surely, the events became the impetus for Keisha to start therapy.
It was at one of those local events that Keisha heard Sarah Olson from WCC speak about the organization’s MBTR training program.
“Every day on Earth is an ongoing sense of therapy,” says Keisha. “When things happen to you as a person, you can’t just go to eight therapy sessions and be healed. I was really living a half-normal life because of the trauma I experienced.”
Not only did Keisha complete the 8-week MBTR program, but so did her son, Taryn, 15.
“Being at WCC was so therapeutic to me,” said Keisha. “We were never really into dogs before, but it made me feel like I had a need, and this animal was here to help and had a need itself. The training was freaking amazing for me and my son. That training, although completed, is still soothing to me, and helping me to get over something that happened 22 years ago. It brought a lot of wonderful feelings and resolve to our every day.”
In fact, the experience, coupled with her ongoing therapy, impacted Keisha so much that she is now on the WCC waitlist for a service dog.
To learn more about WWP’s programs, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org. For more information about WCC’s MBTR program, visit www.warriorcanineconnection.org.
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Warrior Canine Connection’s (WCC) MBTR training program, short for Mission Based Trauma Recovery, is the cornerstone of its mission. This unique volunteer-based, animal-assisted therapy involves Service Members and Veterans in training future service dogs. Besides knowing the dog will one day go on to help a fellow Veteran, many Warriors involved in MBTR cite their own benefits, including enhanced communication, confidence, accountability, emotional regulation, and patience.
Mar Leifeld, WCC’s Veteran training program manager, who spearheads the MBTR program, says while MBTR volunteers have been instrumental in helping to train hundreds of WCC dogs, it has also been transformative in helping Veterans transitioning out of the military to restore a sense of purpose.
“This program is 100% voluntary, and the volunteer piece is really at the heart of what’s driving our Veterans to be involved in it,” said WCC Veteran Training Program Manager Mar Leifeld. “Everyone who is coming to engage in the program, whether they have a personal reason to be engaged, they’re all coming to an increased sense of purpose and community and to give back.”
In 2023, a total of 1,310 Veterans participated in MBTR across all locations, collectively contributing 10,077 hours of voluntary training. On average, each Veteran dedicated approximately 7.7 hours to the program.
The numbers don’t lie—MBTR is impactful. In fact, testimonials from previous participants inspired lawmakers to tap Rick Yount, founder and executive director, WCC, and Veterans Affairs to help draft the original language for what would become the current PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act, which President Biden signed into law in 2021.
Now in year three of a five-year pilot program, the impact of MBTR is being seen at five program sites that provide service dog training to benefit Veterans diagnosed with PTSD; WCC hosts two of the five sites.
While continuous research quantifies the impact of MBTR, participating Veterans have shared profound testimonials; from alleviating PTSD symptoms to enhancing concentration and fostering a sense of purpose, the MBTR program stands as a beacon of hope and healing for those who have served. But don’t just take our word for it, check out the Veteran participant testimonials below, all which have been shared anonymously.
“Training the dogs gave me time away from my PTSD symptoms. I was more focused on connecting with the dogs than my own symptoms,” shared one MBTR participant.
“Before I began the 8-week program, I was suffering from Major Depression. After numerous treatments including a variety of medications and 10 sessions of ECT, I was only minimally better. I was feeling numb for years and was unable to feel any joy. I never left my home and did not want to do anything, even bathing was difficult. My occupational therapist recommended WCC. I honestly did not want to go, but I forced myself. After the first two sessions, I finally began to have some sort of feeling for the first time in years. I now leave my home several times a week and I want to do some things. It is a work in progress, and I have plenty of bad days, but this is a breakthrough,” shared a Veteran participant.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the program and used some of the skills to train my dog at home. It is very enlightening, and one feels like they are contributing their efforts for an excellent cause,” shared an MBTR participant.
“I appreciate the time I was able to spend with the pups & trainers. They are lovely & caring. It was a wonderful reminder to slow down pay attention and breathe into the positive or negative situation/what my inner voice was telling/yelling at me.”
“Training the dogs and learning how to train them in some of their tasks really helped me with concentration and slowing my mind down. I suffer from PTSD, TBI and anxiety amongst other things. My wife literally said the one day I was always in a good mood was the day I had an hour with the dogs. Before or after going.”
“Training the service dogs gave me a sense of purpose; connectedness with fellow veterans, instructors, and dogs; increased my mood; helped me be patient with my own dogs; gave me a sense of pride that I could contribute to society (I told my friends all about the program); made me more interested in other areas of my life again like sports and hiking with my dogs; it inspired me to take more dog training classes (animal CPR and obedience classes for my dogs); it made me feel like the VA cares about veterans with PTSD; I felt loved by the animals and instructors. Overall, this program made helped me feel good about myself again, purposeful and confident in myself.”
Learn more or get involved in WCC’s MBTR program here.
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Today we introduce you to U.S. Air Force Captain (ret.) Andrew Miller. He’s a Veteran who Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) had the pleasure of meeting through its Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training program in partnership with Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). We are honored to share his story.
A horrific car accident in February 2021 prompted U.S. Air Force Captain (ret.) Andrew Miller to medically retire. Andrew has no recollection of the 4-5 months spent in the hospital immediately following the wreck. He underwent multiple surgeries, requiring 19 screws in his leg and treatment for a traumatic brain injury (TBI). As a pilot with a strong passion for flying, Andrew was grounded and felt disconnected and without purpose.
But Andrew says there are two things that have helped him on his continued healing journey: group workouts with WWP and working with WCC’s service dogs in training.
While at Walter Reed recovering, Andrew attended workouts at the Under Armour Headquarters offered through WWP. The group workouts not only helped him feel connected but went a long way in his physical rehabilitation.
“It was really nice being able to have discussions with other people who speak the same language [military] as you,” said Andrew. “I went from those early days of not being able to walk at all to being able to run again.”
In fact, a few months back, Andrew completed the Army Ten-Miler. He openly shares, “It wasn’t through lack of effort. I took it slowly and steadily, one day at a time.”
He also learned about WCC’s Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training program through WWP. Andrew started by taking a class at its headquarters in Boyds, Maryland. He really enjoyed it, so he took more classes, and completed the eight-week MBTR training program. Soon after, he committed to classes to become an independent handler, meaning he helped care for the service dogs in training and assisted WCC service dog training instructors where needed.
“When I see dogs, it just brings a huge smile to my face. When I learned about WCC’s program, I had just medically retired and was looking forward to an opportunity and something to do. It was super beneficial for me in reattaching and realizing I could still have a purpose, even if it was connecting with a dog—I still have a purpose and I found that to be very, very inspiring,” shared Andrew.
Growing up, Andrew aspired to become an astronaut. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he learned to fly. While there, he flew gliders and taught survival school. Following graduation, he attended pilot training and completed six deployments —five flying and one on the ground.
“I wanted to learn to fly, but once I got there, I got to see a lot more purpose in being in the military,” said Andrew. “It really inspired me to find a deeper purpose for serving.”
Although Andrew is currently unable to fly, he’s found another way to serve—by teaching others. Andrew is now working for a regional subsidiary of American Airlines using his experience to teach new pilots how to fly. He’s not only found purpose but has set two new goals for 2024: working with his next WCC dog and completing a half-marathon.
To learn more about WWP’s program, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Three years ago, as she was being rushed into emergency surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center during the COVID pandemic, doctors told U.S. Air Force Major (ret.) Molly O’Connell and her husband that there was a chance she may not walk again — it would depend on the severity of the damage to her spinal cord.
Molly recently shared her story with us after attending Warrior Canine Connection’s (WCC) Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training program in partnership with Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). We are privileged to share her warrior story below.
Molly enlisted in the Air Force after high school and spent 20 years serving her country. During the first 10 years of her military career, she was enlisted in mortuary services. She then went on to get her nursing degree and became an officer, where she spent an additional 10 years caring for others.
Molly had always had spinal issues during her service and deployments. She had undergone previous surgeries, including a neck fusion and spine surgery. But in 2020, she was diagnosed with cauda equina syndrome, a diagnosis that means she had compressed nerves at the base of her spinal column causing severe pain and paralysis from the waist down. She underwent emergency surgery at Walter Reed.
“It took two years for me to start walking again,” said Molly, “I completed intensive physical therapy and came home in a motorized wheelchair. My husband pulled in the driveway and showed me the ramp that the VA installed for me at the front door of the house, and right then I swore I was going to walk again and remove that ramp, and I did.”
Walking again was a tremendous feat, but despite overcoming that huge physical hurdle, Molly says it took a toll on her mental health due to her “new normal,” and she became extremely depressed. This change meant she had to walk away from her nursing career and several other hobbies she had.
“Even though my body was getting better, mentally, I was not doing well at all,” says Molly. “You can do all the exercises in the world, but that doesn’t help when you are feeling alone and down.”
She started seeing a therapist at the Steven A. Cohen Clinic who told her about Warrior Canine Connection’s (WCC) Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training program. Molly says the mere mention of dogs had her immediately interested.
She attended WCC’s eight-week Mission Based Trauma Recovery training program, helping to train service dogs in training for other Veterans. But during the process, she learned a lot about herself.
“MBTR has completely turned my life around … I want to live now, I want to do stuff, I want to become an ambassador for WCC,” said Molly. “I am obsessed with animals and being able to be social again really helped me mentally. I think there’s so much to be said for people who come back from deployment — they might have medical wounds that are going to heal, but being able to return to life and be part of a community again is a huge part of it.”
Molly also credits her husband, Vince Holtmann, who served eight years in the Air Force, with much of her recovery. Her physical challenges meant they could no longer ride bikes and work out together, like they used to. Together, they attended Wounded Warrior Project’s program, Project Odyssey, a couple’s retreat of sorts, where they were able to spend quality time and reconnect.
“The one-week program [Project Odyssey] focused on ways to re-engage and communicate with each other while more importantly, to relearn one another after life-changing events. Both WCC and WWP have been awesome. They’ve helped give me a sense of purpose. Before entering the military, I often wondered why people leave the service and keep talking about years and years later. I never thought that would be me, but there is that sense of camaraderie you miss … it’s like a big family with so much in common to talk about that a lot of people in the outside world can’t relate to … I was still missing that and being around other Veterans and sharing common ground helped me feel like I wasn’t going through it alone.”
After completing WCC’s MBTR training, Molly signed up as a volunteer and is helping to train future service dogs.
Molly also shares her name with WCC’s Molly, an honor she accepted after her husband nominated her as a namesake for the yellow Labrador Retriever and current service dog in training.
To learn more about WWP’s programs, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org. For more information about WCC’s MBTR program, visit www.warriorcanineconnection.org.
Funding to Provide WCC’s Mission Based Trauma Recovery Training Program to Veterans in Virginia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOYDS, Maryland – Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded $125,000 in grant funding from the Virginia Department of Veterans Services. The funding will enable WCC to provide its Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) service dog training program to more Virginia Veterans through the Rappahannock Regional Veterans Docket at the Spotsylvania Circuit Court, Fort Belvoir and in partnership with fellow area nonprofit organizations.
The funding will enable WCC to engage Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the critical mission of helping to train future service dogs for fellow Veterans through its MBTR training program for a 12-month period. By participating in the program, Veterans can receive therapeutic benefits that research has shown reduces symptoms of PTSD and improves mental health.
“We are deeply grateful to the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, Suicide Prevention and Opioid Addiction Services Program (SOS) for its generous grant funding, which will significantly bolster our efforts to provide programming and support for Veterans in the state,” said Rick Yount, executive director and founder, Warrior Canine Connection. “This invaluable support enables us to expand our MBTR programming and resources, ensuring that these Warriors can benefit from the healing power of human-animal bond.”
In addition, grant funds will also support the placement of up to two WCC trained facility dogs at long-term, skilled nursing care facilities for Veterans. WCC facility dogs have the potential to impact the mental health of hundreds of Virginia Veterans.
“The purpose of this award issued by the Virginia Department of Veterans Services is for the provision of comprehensive suicide prevention and opioid addiction services for Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF) in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Angela Porter, PhD., CSOTP, Director of Suicide Prevention and Opioid Addictions Services for the Virginia Department of Veterans Services. “The Virginia Department of Veterans Services – SOS Program aims to enhance understanding of suicide prevention and opioid addiction among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF) and build community support capacity to ensure the RIGHT HELP is widely available RIGHT NOW to military-connected citizens and families.”
WCC’s MBTR training model is the foundation upon which Department of Defense (DoD) Animal Assisted Therapy programs have been built, and it also inspired passage of the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act in 2021. This important legislation calls for the U.D. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to replicate WCC’s MBTR program at five pilot sites across the country. The organization has collaborated on that implementation and currently serves as the nonprofit service partner at two of the five VA hospital sites. Veterans participating in the MBTR program frequently report a decrease in isolative behaviors, decreased levels of anxiety, improved quality of sleep, reduced level of stigma, increased sense of purpose, improvement in family relationships, reduced hypervigilance and improved communications skills.
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Today we introduce you to U.S. Air Force Major (ret.) April Ames-Chase. She’s a Veteran who Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) had the good fortune to meet through its Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training program in partnership with Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). We are privileged to share her story.
April Ames-Chase was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force nine months after graduating from nursing school. Her four older brothers were all in the Air Force, so it was a big draw for her—to follow in their footsteps.
April spent 20 years in the Air Force as a registered nurse, which she says, “was the experience of a lifetime.” Her work took her to many duty stations both in the U.S. and abroad, including the United Kingdom, Korea, Japan, and Iraq.
Iraq was very different from previous assignments, as her time there was during the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She worked long, grueling hours at the hospital on base in Balad, where they were under constant mortar fire, and April says she saw too many combat casualties and often feared for her own life.
“I can tell you it was the camaraderie of fellow medics that got me through it because we all had one mission in mind, and that was to save every life that we could no matter how injured they were,” said April. “Our mission was to save their lives and send them back to the United States once they were stabilized.”
She says those four and a half months in Balad had a profound effect on her.
“As a nurse, when I came back from Iraq, I was a changed person,” said April. “My role changed to an administrator, and after my experience in Iraq, I saw it was a duty that I didn’t want to do anymore; I wanted to be able to go back to mental health and nursing where I could affect change within individuals and put my energy toward helping Veterans.”
The timing felt right, so April retired after 20 years of service to do the nursing work she loves. She’s now a Behavioral Health Nurse Specialist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland where she works with patients, their families, and staff members.
April got invited to attend a WWP event and continued participating in several community projects, including laying wreaths in the cemetery, along with other events throughout the year.
“I just felt a connection with the individuals in Wounded Warrior Project by attending the events,” said April.
She saw information about WWC’s eight-week MBTR program and signed up.
“Oh, I loved it,” said April. “I traveled from Silver Spring, Md. there every week, which was quite a distance but well worth it. I looked forward to it every Saturday. The highlight was on my last day, taking Dollie to Starbucks with Emily and her dog. The dogs are loving, non-judgmental, and being in mental health, I know they raise our endorphin levels along with providing comfort and happiness—they’re life-changing.”
April continues to attend WWP events while balancing her work with finishing up her dissertation for her PhD, which focuses on the adaptation of female Veterans after returning home from Iraq—a subject which hits home for her both personally and professionally.
“Being in behavioral health, I’ve sought my own help where I’ve needed it and programs like those Warrior Canine Connection and Wounded Warrior Project offer, have been instrumental,” said April. “Whether it’s through interacting with the dogs or helping others by training future service dogs, or attending Wounded Warrior Project’s programs and events, it’s been so important for me to have these connection points and outlets for my own mental health. I highly encourage other Veterans who may be hesitant to get involved—they stand to benefit in ways they never realized.”
Air Force Veteran Amber Adams has always loved animals. Growing up, her family raised beagles, and now she has two cats of her own. So, when she saw an opportunity through Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) to be involved with Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) and help train future service dogs, she signed up.
After being honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force, Adams sought out WWP as a way to connect with other Veterans and to find resources to help with her mental and physical health. She’s participated in fishing, kayaking, beekeeping, and a myriad of other activities, but when it came to WCC’s program and working with its puppies and dogs, she was hooked.
“When I learned about the mission, I got really excited about volunteering there,” said Adams. “I like the companionship of the dogs; I bonded really quickly with WCC’s Dana and WCC’s Ember, and I like knowing that the training and enrichment of the puppies will benefit future Veterans.”
Adams started volunteering her time at WCC to help with the whelping and socialization of WCC puppies a few times a month. Then, she learned about its Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) program and participated in the 8-week program learning how to train future service dogs for fellow Warriors. The program teaches Veterans in their own recovery to train service dog for fellow Warriors. In doing so, they receive their own therapeutic benefit from skills development in communication, confidence building, accountability, emotional regulation, patience and more by promoting an act of service.
While completing the MBTR program, Adams also participated in a University of Maryland research study that was funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH), which spanned 2018 to 2022, with a pause for COVID. Veteran participants with PTSD, like Adams, wore heartrate monitors and had saliva swabs taken before and after their interaction with the dogs to measure changes in their heart rate variability, cortisol and physiological stress indicators. Researchers are studying the correlation between the presence of service dogs, quality of life, and level of reported PTSD symptoms. The study will end in January 2023 and the results will be available later in 2023.
“It’s great training for me with my anxiety and PTSD; it’s easier to connect with a dog than a human sometimes,” said Adams. “The mindfulness is great … I’ve become so aware of the tone of my voice, become more patient, and focusing on communicating effectively with the dogs.”
Adams’ father and two sisters both served in the Army and her mother was a teacher. She went to college to be a teacher as well, but after landing only long-term subbing positions, she decided the Air Force would be a great way to go — enabling her to learn a new language and serve her country at the same time.
She spent a year and a half learning the Pashto language spoken by the Taliban at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language School after basic training. Adams served seven years in the Air Force as a cryptologic language analyst, providing force protection for members of the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
She now works for one of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Urban Search & Rescue Task Force as a grants manager. When a natural disaster or terror event happens, she helps to manage the funding and finances for deployments to those areas.
Adams encourages any Veterans who are looking for new hobbies, things to do, and a connection to other like-minded people, to check out WWP.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, there’s a lot of different activities, and a variety of offerings — everyone can find something to do,” said Adams. “It will definitely open your world up to so many other opportunities!”
To learn more about WWP and its programs, click here.
Warrior Canine Connection
is a 501(c)(3)
Nonprofit Organization
# 45-2981579