Naomi Girson | opinions editor

Last year, Duquesne University President Ken Gormley spent his annual Pancakes with the President event sneaking pancakes under the table to Jimmy Stewart.

Not the actor, but a dog from the Warrior Canine Connection, a non-profit organization devoted to training and giving dogs to veterans, especially those with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

All the dogs in the program — either labs or golden retrievers — are named after veterans, including Jimmy Stewart, the yellow lab.

In addition to his Hollywood career, Jimmy Stewart, the person, served in the Army Air Corps and the Air Force, respectively, in World War II and the Vietnam war.

Gormley, whose favorite movie is “It’s a Wonderful Life”, formed a special connection with the dog sharing the name with the lead actor.

“[The movie] summarized what I thought was most important about life, which was small acts of selflessness and caring for others, is really what makes the world go round. Much more so than people who are in the limelight all the time,” Gormley said. “[Jimmy Stewart] and the Warrior Canine Connection are doing that same kind of work about caring for others without lots of fanfare and really doing some of the most important work that anyone can do.”

In 2008, Rick Yount, a licensed social worker, created the first warrior training program because he felt dogs could play a pivotal role in the healing process for veterans after serving, according to the Warrior Canine Connection website.

He officially established the Warrior Canine Connection in 2011 and made it their mission to give trained dogs to veterans for free. Now Yount is the executive director of the organization, and godfather to all the dogs, according to Sue Watson.

Watson, Warrior Canine Connection Pittsburgh Manager and Service Dog Training Instructor, said that the efforts have grown over time, and they are now classified as an “unfunded mandate” by the VA. This means the VA has found merit in the program, but they have yet to be able to provide the funding necessary for the resources to be more widespread.

Before the dogs can be given to the veterans, they have to be properly trained, which is done by the “puppy parents.”

Puppy parents are given the responsibility to take care of the companion dogs until they are 18-20 months old and ready to go to a veteran in need. They are expected to attend weekly training classes and check-ins and follow strict rules.

They cannot eat certain kinds of food, run in open fields or be nose to nose with another dog.

Watson was the first puppy parent in the Pittsburgh area, starting in June 2024. She took in Retzer, a lab named after Thomas Retzer, a Navy seal who was killed in action. Since then, she has taken in two other dogs; Jimmy Stewart and Fran, a golden retriever who is named after Francis Pope Lauderbach, a World War II Army Nurse.

​​Christopher Boissonnault, Director for the Office for Military and Veteran Students at Duquesne and a Marine veteran, said that the Warrior Canine Connection was looking to expand in the area and get the puppies more integrated into bustling communities, like college campuses.

“They’re not service dogs. They’re actually companion dogs,” Boissonnault said. “So the goal is, the more people that pet and interact with the dogs, the better. So what better place than a college campus full of people.”

He said that some schools were apprehensive about the idea of having dogs on campus, because of the possibility of an attack, but Duquesne embraced the program, in part because of Gormley.

“I thought it was really a beautiful thing to have … the dogs that have been trained correctly to deal with people,” Gormley said.

Boissonnault said he is committed to the veterans, on and off campus, and wants to give as many people as possible the life they deserve.

“We do lose 22 service members a day by suicide. And the statistics have shown that for service members that have a pet, like a service dog or companion dog, the numbers drop significantly down to almost zero,” Boissonnault said.

Jack Stonesifier, a West Virginia Army National Guard veteran and law school student at Duquesne, said he isn’t ready for a full-time canine yet, but has helped with parts of the program. He called the dogs an anchor for the veterans.

“A lot of veterans feel cast adrift when they leave because that support system, that network, that culture of trust, is no longer there,” Stonesifer said. “By being able to have that dog … it’s helpful, because it is a responsibility that they need.”

Stonesifier also said the dogs would be reliable to love their owner back and help them in times of need.

Watson said the organization has plenty of dogs and plenty of veterans in need, but what they don’t have is enough puppy parents.

The organization pays for all of the resources the puppies need, but it’s a big commitment for parents, Watson said. It’s not just a pet dog; it will be a companion.

“You have to think of it like building a piece of medical equipment,” Watson said.

However, she has gone through it all, and she said she has seen the benefit in others when they have volunteered as well.

“Most of our people have said this is such a rewarding experience, such a learning experience,” Watson said.

The only sore spot, Watson said, is when the end of those 20 months sneak up on the calendar. Warrior Canine Connection has a “passing of the leash” ceremony, where puppy parents hand their dog off to a veteran.

The first time Watson had to give her dog back to a veteran she said she was a wreck, but looking back she realizes that her sadness was misplaced.

“Shame on me,” Watson said. “This is like heaven, he is going home, this is what he was bred for, and this is what he was trained for.”

The program is only available to students living off campus because of pet policies in on-campus housing. Students who want to get involved in the Warrior Canine Connection can reach out to Watson in the Van Kaam Building on Fifth Avenue.

Naomi Girson can be reached at girsonn@duq.edu