Spotlight – Warrior Canine Connection’s Luke

When I first started my project with Warrior Canine Connection’s Honor Litter, I set four goals I hope to achieve, and laid them out in my first blog post Focusing On Service – It Can Be Life Changing.   To move toward these goals, this is the first in a series of individual spotlights on each Honor Litter Dog!  Are you a “Lukian?”  Or, a “Flo-fan?”  Perhaps you’re a “Derek devotee?”   I hope my Features are as fun for you to read as they are for me to make!  Here, the dogs will be the stars! 🙂

A HUGE part of the making of a future Wounded Warrior service dog starts with the Puppy Parents.  These amazing people give so much of their time, love and devotion to raise and train the puppy in their charge, knowing all the while that “their” puppy has a very important job to do…a job that will eventually take them from the loving family they have grown up in, and place them into the life of a very deserving veteran.  So my question is – Who are these Puppy Parents and why did they choose to take on such a huge task?

As a way to learn more about these wonderful people (not to mention get lots and lots of puppy kisses) and show the lives the Honor Litter are leading, I thought it would be great to visit each of the puppies and their families one-on-one…Take a few photos, share a few laughs and really learn more on an individual level.

Thus, the Features are born!  First up – Luke:

As most of you know, Luke left WCC here in Maryland to go to the WCC branch out in California.  It was a sad day to see him go, but he is doing such amazing things out on the West Coast, and bringing so much joy to all who meet him.  Luke and his Puppy Mom, Laurie, came for a visit to attend Warrior Canine Connection’s very first graduation last fall.  While they were here, I had a chance to catch up with them, and it was a blast!!

I asked Laurie and Michael why their family decided to become Puppy Parents, and I was really touched by the example and values they are instilling in her children.  She told me their “family believes strongly in volunteering and philanthropy.  We choose to focus our support on education, literacy, the arts and now Warrior Canine Connection.  We want our children to learn the reward of helping others.  When we were given the opportunity to become Puppy Parents we realized what a wonderful way to give on many different levels.”

Going on many of the WCC outings with the Honor Litter and their puppy parents, I have personally witnessed the impact of these puppies, so it made me wonder what has been the most unusual or unexpected experience each of the puppy parents has had so far.  When I posed this question to Laurie, she replied “I don’t think I was prepared for the privilege of interacting and sharing Luke, WCC and Luke’s story with so many people.   Our job as puppy parents is to expose Luke to a wide variety of life experiences.   We take Luke with us everywhere we go, whether it be to a San Francisco 49’ers football game [editor’s note: How AWESOME is that?!], a trip to the grocery store or even a trip across the country to visit family, he is our constant companion.  Luke is an ambassador for WCC and as his puppy parents we have the responsibility of sharing the organization’s mission with those we meet along the way.  Additionally, it is a great honor to share the story of Luke’s namesake, 1st Sgt. Luke Mercardante, who lost his life in Afghanistan in 2008.”  “Another form of outreach is through Luke’s Facebook page where we post pictures, videos and stories about his many adventures, accomplishments and general trials and tribulations.  His Facebook followers, many of whom are EPW’s (extreme puppy watchers), bring us great joy with their comments and questions.”

So I then asked Laurie to tell me about WCC – How did you become involved with them?  What made you choose them?  To which she replied, “My mother introduced me to WCC in January 2013.  She suffered a stroke the month before and while she was recovering she discovered Explore.org and the “Weather” litter of puppies.  Her joy of watching the puppies quickly transferred to me!  With the opening of the West Coast program in June 2013, I reached out to Program Director, Catherine Dorr, and offered to help in any way I could.  I began by taking care of a potential breeder dog, Chee, in July.  When Cate asked if we were interested in being puppy parents, we had long, thoughtful discussions about the pros and cons.  The pros definitely won out!!”

Cheryl (WCC’s head trainer) and I talk frequently about the puppies’ training and progress, but I’m always curious to learn how the puppy parents feel about it.  After all, puppy parents aren’t experts (neither am I!), so I think that tackling the training alone is a huge task (I don’t know about you, but, I’d just want to play with the puppies the whole time!).  I asked Laurie to tell me a little about Luke’s training and how she sees him progressing.  “Luke is such an intelligent puppy.  He learns quickly and happily.  It is fun to watch as he processes a new command.  Luke loves food and works hard for his treats!”

Having a service dog in training and being involved so intimately with the process HAS to have a huge impact on the people raising these puppies, so I always want to learn how being a part of training a service dog affects the puppy parents and their families.   Laurie tells me, “The dogs in the west coast WCC program work with veterans on a daily basis at the Menlo Park VA (Veteran’s Affairs).  I have the opportunity of seeing Luke interact with the veterans in treatment there.  One of my most memorable experiences involved a young man, ‘Andy,’ who I met on my first trip with Luke to the VA’s Puppy Corner.    I introduced myself as Luke’s puppy parent and shared a few funny stories of Luke at home.  During our initial conversation, Andy had a difficult time making eye contact and quickly ended the conversation.  We had a few more brief interactions that day.   I visit the VA once or twice a week to drop off and pick up Luke from his warrior training sessions.  I spoke to Andy almost every time I visited.  As time passed our conversations were longer and the eye contact increased too.  In November, WCC hosted a Veteran’s Day party at the VA where Luke and the other WCC dogs were featured with Pin-ups for Vets.  Andy acted as Luke’s handler for the day.  When it was time for us to take Luke home, I said good-bye and reached out to give Andy a handshake.  What I received instead was a hug.  It was a simple act but it meant so much.  This young man had come very far in a few short months.  We have Luke and the other dogs to thank in part for this.  Being involved with the veterans has been incredibly rewarding for our entire family. The work that WCC and their dogs provide to our country’s service men and women is wonderful and we are proud to support the mission at every opportunity.”

Wow!

Most of the Honor Litter were placed with their puppy parents by the time they were about 12 weeks old.  Much like those of us who bring new family pets into our homes, having a young puppy can be a full time job, so I asked Laurie what advice she would give people who are bringing a new family dog into their home?   “Be prepared to make a long-term commitment to training.  Many people see Luke and wish their dog could be as well behaved.  With consistent training, most dogs have the potential to be great companions, but it takes time, energy and lots of love.”  I’m sure those of us who have ever had a “Marley” (or read the book Marley and Me) will agree wholeheartedly how important it is to start very early and be very consistent with training.  🙂

Many of you who follow BGP are familiar with our dog, Harvey.  He is an amazing, intelligent dog and wonderful companion, not to mention being a vital part of my pet photography business.  However, he does not always welcome other dogs with a happy wag of his tail…and I won’t even tell you about cats… This got me wondering about the puppy parents bringing one of WCC’s dogs into their homes.   So I asked – did you already have a pet when you brought your Honor Litter puppy home?  How was the transition?   “We have another black Labrador retriever at home, as well as two black cats.” Laurie tells me, “The transition was incredibly easy for our dog, Luna.  She is 1 ½ years old and was excited to have a playmate!  The cats continue to be cautious, but our oldest cat, Wylie Coyote was raised with a chocolate lab who was like a mother to him, so he continually seeks out Luke’s company.  Sometimes Luke can be a little rough, but Wylie is quick to put him in his place!”  Leave it to a cat to put a dog in his place, especially one named Wylie Coyote!  haha!

The Honor Litter is my first experience with really young puppies, so it was fascinating to see each of their personalities develop.  Each of them are such individuals and growing up in different families must play a part in forming who they will become.  “Luke has always been a happy, loveable puppy.  At home he loves to play with Luna and it has been fun to watch him go from a tiny little pup that chased her to a large beast that can easily push her around!  He definitely has a mellow side to him and is happy to curl up on the sofa with us.  He likes to be connected to his humans.  When I am preparing dinner he will rest at my feet, usually on top of them!  I take Luke to meetings and he will rest his head on my feet under the table.  He once created quite a stir in a meeting when he began snoring and everyone tried to figure out where the noise was coming from.  The laughter woke him from his slumber!”

Because WCC is a growing family, there will always be a need for more puppy parents, so I thought it might be a good idea to ask the Honor Litter puppy parents if they have any advice about fostering a puppy for future Puppy Parents?  “Being a puppy parent is a lot like being a new parent in that it passes so quickly!  Enjoy every moment and take lots of pictures!”  Well said, Laurie!  I’m doing my best to  “take lots of pictures”  🙂

I hope you have enjoyed having a peek into Luke’s life and getting to know a little about his wonderful family.  I’d like to especially thank Laurie, Michael and their family for their service to the cause of raising Luke, and in turn, helping our Wounded Warriors recover with amazing service animals.  Please stay tuned for more Honor Litter Features to come.  In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts and any questions you might have in the comments below!

Until next time, have joy in your heart, a smile on your face and a dog by your side!

Bonnie

Love the pictures featured in this blog post?  Would you like to have beautiful images of your own pets?  Now is your chance to forever capture the personality and spirit of your own pets AND help WCC!  Please visit http://www.bonniegrower.com/services/ and contact me at hi@BonnieGrower.com to book a session where your furry family member is the star!  Mention that you are a supporter of WCC and I will donate a portion of your session fee to Warrior Canine Connection.

Has Bonnie Grower Photography taken a photo of one of your favorite WCC dogs and you just have to have it?  Purchase prints of any of the WCC dogs and BGP will donate 50% of the proceeds to Warrior Canine Connection!

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