By Beth Bourgeois | Media and Public Relations Office
Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) is proud to announce the launch of a new program in partnership with Duquesne University, a distinguished institution with deep roots in military tradition and service. Funded by the generous support of Team Foster, this new initiative will utilize WCC’s innovative Mission Based Trauma Recovery (MBTR) training model to benefit Veterans, the university and the broader Pittsburgh community.
WCC’s MBTR model is centered on the time-honored military tradition of Warriors helping Warriors. In this program, Veterans learn to train service dogs for their fellow Warriors, while fostering their own skills in communication, confidence building, emotional regulation and patience. The program’s focus on peer support and personal growth makes it a natural fit for Duquesne University—a Veteran-centric institution—that has a profound history of supporting Veterans and an ROTC program dating back to 1917.
“Thanks to Duquesne’s Office of Military and Veteran Students, which has been a true champion in bringing this program to life, Veterans will now have the powerful opportunity to heal and support one another by learning to train service dogs for their fellow Warriors,” said Rick Yount, founder and executive director, WCC. “This hands-on experience not only aids in the recovery of our Veterans but also deepens Duquesne University’s long-standing commitment to its military history by directly serving its Veteran students and the surrounding community. We’re also profoundly grateful to Team Foster for their continued dedication, which allows us to extend our reach and support even more Veterans in need.”
This new WCC Pittsburgh program has been made possible thanks to a generous gift from Team Foster, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization founded by Nick Liermann in honor of his friend and comrade, U.S. Army Captain Erick Foster, who was killed in Iraq in 2007. This program holds particular significance as Foster was from the Pittsburgh area and graduated from Duquesne University. Team Foster’s involvement underscores the deeply personal nature of this initiative, aligning with its mission to support Veterans by helping to place them with highly trained, accredited service dogs.
“I cannot think of a more appropriate partner or location for Team Foster to support accredited service dog training space,” said Nick Liermann, founder and executive director, Team Foster. “Captain Foster would be proud of the support from his alma mater at Duquesne and the Pittsburgh community to help our Veteran teammates.”
The program officially launched in September and is hosted on Duquesne University’s campus in Pittsburgh. A WCC service dog training instructor, along with five service dogs in training, are already working with Veterans in the program.
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