FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2021

Boyds, Md. – Warrior Canine Connection, a nonprofit dedicated to breeding, training and placing highly skilled service dogs for Service Members and Veterans with visible and hidden wounds, is pleased to announce that it has achieved its 5-year reaccreditation by Assistance Dogs International (ADI). ADI is the leading authority in the Assistance Dogs industry. It establishes and promotes standards of excellence in all areas of assistance dog acquisition, training and partnership.

“Assistance Dogs International is the global authority on assistance dogs, and we are immensely proud to have received the organization’s renewed stamp of approval,” said Rick Yount, founder and executive director. “We are proud to breed, train and place highly specialized service dogs with Veterans in need. We are thankful for ADI’s leadership and commitment to ensuring high standards throughout the service dog industry; they are providing a powerful impact on Veterans and many others who benefit from the love, companionship and assistance from service dogs.”

Warrior Canine Connection uses a Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training model that harnesses the healing power of the Warrior Ethos and the human-animal bond to reduce symptoms of combat trauma whereby Warriors with combat stress train the dogs to assist another Veteran with visible and/or invisible wounds. The model provides recovering combat Veterans with a sense of purpose while they are recovering and is designed to remediate their symptoms of combat stress, such as isolation, emotional numbness and re-experiencing. Each dog can positively impact up to 60 Veterans during the training process.

To date, WCC has placed a total of 94 assistance dogs with Warriors and military families. Another cadre of service dogs, WCC’s largest class since its inception, will be paired with their forever Veterans and will graduate together this September.

Once accredited, a program becomes a member of ADI. Member programs must complete a reaccreditation every five years to comply with ADI’s Standards of Practice. ADI accreditation is a peer-review process conducted by a trained ADI assessor over a period of 2-4 days. Currently there are 136 ADI accredited service dog programs in the world.

 

For more information, please contact Beth Bourgeois, Warrior Canine Connection, at beth.bourgeois@warriorcanineconnection.org.

 

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 Assistance Dogs International
Assistance Dogs International (ADI) is a worldwide coalition of non-profit organizations that raise, train and place assistance dogs.  The objectives of Assistance Dogs International are to:

• Establish and promote standards of excellence in all areas of assistance dog acquisition, training and partnership
  ●Facilitate communication and learning among member programs
  ●Educate the public to the benefits of Assistance Dogs and ADI membership.

For more information, visit www.assistancedogsinternational.org.