• Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
Donate
Warrior Canine Connection enlists recovering Warriors in a therapeutic mission of learning to train service dogs for their fellow Veterans.
Warrior Canine Connection
  • 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 Parent
    • Become a Puppy Sitter
    • Educational Toolkit
  • 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
  • Menu Menu
  • Donate
  • 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 Parent
    • 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

Posts

New Faces at WCC: Jennifer Desher

November 22, 2022/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by WCC Comms

Warrior Canine Connection is pleased to announce that Jennifer Desher has joined its pack and will serve as the program manager and service dog training instructor at its new training site located at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jennifer is no stranger to working with dogs. In fact, her training roots go back to 2011 when she was living in Minot, North Dakota, because her husband, Kevin, was stationed at Minot Air Force Base. While there, she started taking in stray dogs and doing basic obedience training with them, which she learned by watching YouTube videos, and then would find them deserving homes. During that 3 year-period, she trained and rehomed 60+ dogs. Hooked on working with dogs, she took an online formal dog training class.

Jennifer traces her love of dogs back to childhood. “I have always been a dog lover,” said Jennifer. “After begging my parents for what seemed like forever, I got my first dog at 13—a Samoyed, who I named Tinker, after my grandfather who was nicknamed ‘Tink.’”

In 2013, Jennifer and Kevin moved back to their hometown in Pa. Shortly afterward, Kevin deployed with the Air National Guard. While he was gone, Jennifer spent the year in Texas, attending the Starmark Animal Behavioral Center for additional training. After completing her education, she helped run dog training programs in North Carolina and then back in their hometown of Philadelphia.

So when Jennifer saw the job posting for a brand-new WCC program at the University of Pennsylvania, she immediately filled out the application.

“Finding something like this was a dream come true for me,” said Jennifer. “It hits home since it combines my passion for the military and Veterans with dog training—it was a no-brainer. And it’s in my hometown.”

Jennifer, Kevin, and their two children Penelope, 7, and Benjamin, 1, reside in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, along with their 11-year-old Husky, Meyla. When not working, an avid runner, Jennifer can often be found logging miles around town or at the local parks with her kids and spending time with her large, extended family. She’s also an advocate for the education of beta-propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration (BPAN), a disorder her daughter, Penelope, has that damages the nervous system.

https://warriorcanineconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white.svg 0 0 WCC Comms https://warriorcanineconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white.svg WCC Comms2022-11-22 03:22:062023-01-10 18:57:11New Faces at WCC: Jennifer Desher

New Penn medical school program matches service dogs with veterans

November 17, 2022/0 Comments/in WCC in the News /by WCC Comms

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A new program at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania aims to improve the lives of veterans, both on staff and in the community through service animals, like four-month-old Mosko.

Mosko is a playful pup undergoing some serious training.
Check out the full story on WPVI News 6 here.

https://warriorcanineconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white.svg 0 0 WCC Comms https://warriorcanineconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white.svg WCC Comms2022-11-17 21:15:292022-11-17 21:15:29New Penn medical school program matches service dogs with veterans

Warrior Canine Connection Partners with University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine to Bring Therapeutic Service Dog Training Program to Veterans on Campus

November 8, 2022/0 Comments/in Press Releases /by WCC Comms

Program Made Possible Thanks to Funding from Team Foster

BOYDS, Maryland – The Perelman School of Medicine and its Veterans Care Excellence Program (VCEP) at the University of Pennsylvania is going to the dogs. Starting this month, Warrior Canine Connection (WCC), a nonprofit that breeds, trains and places highly skilled service dogs with Service Members and Veterans with physical and psychological trauma, will provide an on-site service dog training program for Penn Veteran students, staff and those served by the university.

The program will utilize WCC’s Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training model, in which Veterans learn how to train service dogs for their fellow Warriors. The program fulfills a time-honored military tradition of Warriors helping Warriors, and in doing so, Veterans can also benefit from their own skills development in communication, confidence building, accountability, emotional regulation and patience.

The new program is made possible thanks to a generous $100,000 gift from Team Foster, a local Philadelphia-based Veteran support organization dedicated to serving disabled Veterans through community support, Veteran peers and highly trained service dogs.

“Fueled by the support of Team Foster, we are honored to partner with an educational institution of Penn’s distinction,” said Rick Yount, founder and executive director, Warrior Canine Connection. “To have a program like this accessible on campus is incredible—as it will allow Veteran students and staff to more actively engage and benefit from the program, while helping to serve other Veterans by helping to meet the incredible need for service dogs.”

VCEP at Penn established a formalized structure to guide the existing and continued growth and development of Penn Medicine’s programs and services for Veterans in an effort to create a streamlined and supportive culture of care. The program oversees the recruiting, training and success-building of Veteran employees at the health system and ensures Veteran patients served by Penn receive optimum care. In addition, the VCEP program helps streamline the process of navigating health care benefits with those from Veteran Affairs.

“The Veteran Care Excellence Program at Penn Medicine and the Penn Veteran Collaborative Consortium program is honored to partner with Warrior Canine Connection and Team Foster,” said Paula Crawford-Gamble, RN, MSN, CAPT, NC, USN (Ret), Veterans Care Excellence Liaison, Penn. “Together we are excited to help our service members in need reconnect with life, their families, their communities, and each other through this innovative program.’” Crawford-Gamble has a service dog of her own from WCC, named Dollie.

“Team Foster has partnered with service dog organizations across the region for years; this is a long-overdue opportunity to bring a reputable, best-in-class partner to the Philadelphia area,” said Nick Liermann, founder and executive director, Team Foster. “Service dogs literally save
lives. Partnering with Warrior Canine Connection and Penn provides Philadelphia-area Veterans access to these amazing animals—something our area desperately needs.”

The program officially launched in October and is located on Penn’s campus. A WCC service dog training instructor, along with five service dogs in training, are already based at the location.
The program is actively seeking Puppy Parents, volunteers who help raise and train the service dogs in training for up to the first two years of their lives.

Veterans interested in learning more about the program can email mbtr@warriorcanineconnection.org or visit warriorcanineconnection.org.

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 Team Foster
Team Foster fights for the unmet needs of injured and disabled Veterans by bringing together civilians, Veterans and highly trained service dogs.
We do this by:
·Helping Veterans obtain highly trained service dogs they need at no cost;
·Providing grants for the unmet needs of Veterans and their service dog;
·Ensuring Veteran service dogs receive the highest quality training;
·Promoting awareness of service-related PTSD and TBI and advocating for the long-term needs of our Veterans.
Learn more at www.teamfoster.org.

https://warriorcanineconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white.svg 0 0 WCC Comms https://warriorcanineconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/logo_white.svg WCC Comms2022-11-08 14:21:102022-11-08 14:21:10Warrior Canine Connection Partners with University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine to Bring Therapeutic Service Dog Training Program to Veterans on Campus

Featured Video

Contact Us

14934 Schaeffer Road
Boyds, MD 20841

(T) 301.260.1111
info@warriorcanineconnection.org

Connect with us!

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

Scroll to top