By Leigh Bluestein
Warrior Canine Connection’s (WCC) Welcome Home Litter has brought laughter and delight to many viewers of Explore.org’s 24-hour puppy cam at WCC over the past eight weeks. The six playful puppies, born on January 7, 2018, have now moved on to next phase of their training to become skilled service dogs.
Five of the puppies will remain in WCC’s service dog training program. They are now at home with WCC Puppy Parents where they will live and train over the next two years. Once a week, Puppy Parents and puppies attend training classes to learn important service dogs commands and skills, such as sit, stay, name recall, touch, go in and loose leash walking.
One of the Welcome Home puppies, Miss Pink, went home to Susquehanna Service Dogs, in Grantville, Pennsylvania, where her father, Macintosh, lives.
WCC is proud to name the other five puppies of the Welcome Home Litter in honor of Veterans of the Vietnam War:
• Miss Orange was named Carol in honor of United States Army Second Lieutenant Carol Ann Drazba.
• Miss Purple was named Lucki in honor of United States Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Doris “Lucki” Allen, Ret.
• Mr. Blue was named Eli in honor of United States Marine Corps Corporal Mariner Elijah Fleming.
• Mr. Red was named Calli in honor of United States Marine Corps Captain Thomas Callinan.
• Mr. Green was named Hefti in honor of United States Army Lieutenant Colonel James Callahan Hefti, Ret.
Thank you for watching WCC’s Puppy Cam! Please stay tuned and check back in early April for the arrival of WCC’s next litter of future service dogs for our nation’s heroes! To learn more about WCC and its programs, visit www.warriorcanineconnection.org.