Animal Welfare United States Project #42296

Support Mission Based Trauma Recovery for Vets

by Warrior Canine Connection

Project Report | Jun 30, 2023
Army Veteran Finds Healing in Helping Others

By Beth Bourgeois | Media and Public Relations Office

Paul and WCC Puppy

Today we introduce you to Paul, a U.S. Army Reserve Sergeant First Class (Ret.), who’s had a unique military career. Post-retirement, he has devoted his time and talents to multiple volunteer efforts—all to benefit his fellow Veterans.

Paul was always intrigued by the military; his father was a U.S. Marine, and his uncles served, too. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1979 and spent four years on active duty as an infantry solider in Northern Germany before becoming an electrician for the federal government, where he built a 30-year career.

But after the events of 9/11, Paul was compelled to re-enlist—20 years after his original service—only, this time in the U.S. Army Reserves, where he served as a construction engineer and a basic electricity instructor. During that time, he completed a one-year deployment to Iraq in 2003 and three deployments to Afghanistan from 2008 to 2012, where he worked as a construction engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers before retiring in 2015.

It was during his last deployment that Paul was injured in the line of duty. He shared, “I got the Purple Heart … it’s not the kind of award you want, but I’m honored to have received it.”

A family man at heart, after retiring from his 30-year electrician career in 2018, Paul enjoyed spending more time with his wife, Annie, two grown children and his three grandchildren. He also dove into volunteer efforts, including serving as a mentor with Wounded Warrior Project’s (WWP) Mentor Program; founding the Poolesville Military Support Group; acting as Veteran Liaison with Frederick County Hospice; and helping to train service dogs through Warrior Canine Connection’s Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training program.

Paul works closely with a Warrior peer support group. The group meets monthly to talk amongst each other, and they also participate in other activities including indoor sky diving, axe throwing, and arcades.

“It’s a good bunch of guys, we share things that work for us in a comfortable setting, and it’s a great bonding experience,” said Paul. “We all miss the camaraderie the military provided.”

He also volunteers with WCC. In fact, what started as his volunteer participation in its eight-week Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training program, has long since led to him being a regular volunteer fixture at WCC’s Healing Quarters at both its Boyds and Frederick, Maryland, locations.

“I learned about WCC in the newspaper, so I called them six months before I retired to see if I could help them out,” said Paul. “I wanted to help them, and the program ended up being therapy for me. What I get out of it is just phenomenal, like magic healing,” said Paul.

Paul says volunteering for nonprofit organizations that support Veterans, including WCC and Wounded Warrior Project, brings him purpose, while helping him at the same time. He didn’t anticipate it, but by helping others, has helped him. “Both organizations are wonderful, and both have helped me out a lot,” says Paul. “And I’m happy to give back to them because they’ve done so much for me.”

In fact, working with WCC’s service dogs in training spurred Paul to enroll in an online course to become a certified, professional dog trainer. He says he wants to specialize in training service dogs and is actively visiting seniors and Veterans with his own dog, Luke, a 5-year-old Golden Retriever, who is a therapy dog.

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Mar 16, 2023
WCC Programs Expand Reach

By Beth Bourgeois | Media and Public Relations Office

WCC Service Dog in Training works with Veterans

Warrior Canine Connection’s programs continue to see growth, both locally in nearby Frederick, Maryland, as well as at two new sites — one in Pennsylvania and another in Virginia.

November marked the official start of WCC’s new program at the University of Pennsylvania in collaboration with its Perelman School of Medicine and Veterans Care Excellence Program (VCEP). The program provides WCC’s Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training program on campus for area Veteran students, staff and community members, and has five service dogs in training on site.

Funding for the WCC program at Penn was provided by Team Foster, a local Philadelphia-based Veteran support organization dedicated to serving disabled Veterans through community support, Veteran peers and highly trained service dogs.

Also in November, roughly 20 miles from WCC’s Healing Quarters in Boyds, Platoon 22, a non-profit organization who mission is to end Veteran suicide opened the doors to its new Platoon Veteran Services Center at Goodwill in Frederick, Md. The space provides much-needed resources and support for Veterans transitioning from service to civilian life. WCC is offering its Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) programming on-site several days a week as one of its ongoing support programs.

In Virginia, WCC has begun working with the Rappahannock Regional Veterans Treatment Docket which is being held at the Spotsylvania Circuit Court in Northern Virginia. In support of this Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) programming, WCC is engaging Veterans in MBTR classes to satisfy community service hours—often a requirement for graduation from the court. The dog training — offered through WCC — is one of the options on the docket. Training takes place on a weekly basis at the courthouse and Veterans can participate within the WCC program for the duration of their VTC commitment. The program is in addition to WCC VTC programming taking place at locations in California, Maryland and North Carolina.

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Nov 15, 2022
WCC Models Inspires PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act

By Jennifer Wilder | Director of Development and Communications

Training a service dog takes two years

In July 2008, Warrior Canine Connection Executive Director and Founder Rick Yount piloted the first Therapeutic Service Dog Training Program for Veterans at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center’s inpatient PTSD program. The testimonies from the Veterans in Rick’s program inspired lawmakers so powerfully to the degree that they asked Yount and Veterans Affairs to help draft the original language for what would become the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act. After many challenges and 13-years later, last August, the President signed the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act into law.

Under the new law, the Department of Veterans Affairs will launch a five-year pilot program that provides service dog training to benefit Veterans diagnosed with PTSD. In addition to expanding Yount’s therapeutic service dog training model to five VA hospitals around the country, it is the first law that authorizes the VA to provide support for Veterans who utilize service dogs to help them mitigate their psychological injuries.

“Thank you to the leadership at the Palo Alto VA, especially Recreation Therapy Services for its forward-thinking and willingness to explore a new way of caring for hospitalized Veterans,” said Rick Yount, executive director and founder, Warrior Canine Connection. “They put their faith in me, allowing me to bring four Golden Retrievers on a daily basis into a very intense clinical setting at their Menlo Park Trauma Recovery Program. This legislation has been a long time coming, and it validates the Mission Based Trauma Recovery training model that Warrior Canine Connection created to help our Warriors in recovery. Furthermore, it underscores the importance and power of the human-animal bond and will provide significant support and resources for Veterans who can benefit from their relationship with man’s best friend.”

This legislation took effect on January 1, 2022. WCC was asked by VA leadership to collaborate on the implementation, and is the nonprofit partner currently providing services at two of the five pilot sites.

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