WASHINGTON — The draft might be over, but the new additions have not stopped for the Washington Commanders as they add a new addition to their 2024 roster — and this one will paws-itively have a ball.
On Tuesday, the Commanders announced team Dog Barney, an 11-week-old black Labrador Retriever from Warrior Canine Connection (WCC), a nonprofit based in Boyds, Maryland. The nonprofit breeds, trains, and places highly-skilled service dogs with veterans who have sustained physical and psychological wounds while in service. Barney marks the start of the Commanders’ partnership with WCC.
“The Commanders are proud to support the country’s largest community of active-duty military personnel, veterans, retirees and their families,” Commanders President Jason Wright said. “We are honored to partner with Warrior Canine Connection in our efforts to give back to those in the DMV who have bravely served our nation.”
WCC’s service dogs in training are named in honor of veterans, both past and present. The Commanders named Barney in honor of Col. Harvey Curtiss “Barney” Barnum Jr., a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Vietnam War.
Barney the Washington Commanders team dog
“Col. Barnum exhibited true dedication to service throughout his career and into his retirement,” said veteran and Washington Salute Lead Chris Bailey. “We’re proud to have the opportunity to honor him for his heroic actions and continued commitment to the community.”
Barney will spend around two years in training, after which, he will be paired with a veteran. The training includes WCC’s Mission-Based Trauma Recovery training program, which helps veterans with increased impulse control, sleep and emotional regulation, as well as decreased levels of stress, depression and hypervigilance.
During his training, Barney can impact the lives of up to 60 veterans.
“It’s a circle of training," Rick Yount, founder of the Warrior Canine Connection said.
Yount explained that WCC is more than just a program that trains dogs to be service dogs. Veterans actually participate in the training of dogs like Barney.
“When you’re training them you have to slow down to connect with these dogs," he said. "[The veterans] are able to take that home and slow it down a bit with their spouses and kids.”
Yount said the idea of helping veterans heal through training dogs started back in 2008. He saw that there were not enough service dogs to help all the veterans suffering from PTSD.
"I saw that learning to train a service dog could help a veteran learning to deal with their visible and invisible wounds," he said.
Since 2011, the Warrior Canine Connection has taught hundreds of veterans to train dogs, and in turn trained hundreds of dogs to become services dogs for veterans.
Barney is just the latest in a long line of canine companions, but he has a bigger mission.
"He will have the opportunity to not only serve veterans but to share more about WCC with the wider world," trainer Sarah Olson said. "We will be at some of the Commanders events and games this year."
“It gives us an opportunity to reach an audience we have not have been able to reach before.”
As Barney goes through training, he will make multiple guest appearances at Commanders’ games, where he will meet fans and participate in community events. Throughout the season, the Washington Commanders Foundation will help cover his training expenses to ensure he fulfills his dream of becoming a life-changing companion for a veteran.
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