Somewhere between 10% and 18% of Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD* and nearly every Service Member deployed in Iraq faced some kind of combat stressor. Living and working in Oceanside, with Camp Pendleton in our backyard, means that between family members, friends, and neighbors who have served, everybody is touched in some way by the fallout from armed conflict. While PTSD is an individual's illness and finding one clinical cure is nearly impossible, Warrior Canine Connection is out to help our neighbors and loved ones in ways that doctors can’t.

WCC uses community building and animal bonding to help vets struggling with PTSD or recovering from a Traumatic Brain Injury. Service Members with psychological injuries train service dogs for other vets living with physical injuries. Knowing that the service dog is going to help a fellow Veteran encourages the trainers to let their guard down and express positivity and vulnerability with the animal. Re-learning how to access those emotions re-trains the Veterans for healthy human relationships back home.

"Make Par / Not War" has been our motto since the beginning, and we’re honored to be partnering with Warrior Canine Connection to support our neighbors on their path to recovery. Listen to Linksouldier, Joshua Stueve, speak about what Warrior Canine Connection is doing for the Camp Pendleton/Oceanside community of Veterans in the video above.

We will now be donating 10% of sales from items in our Make Par / Not War collection to the WCC. 

To make a direct donation to the WCC, please visit them here. 

* https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/reintegration/overview-mental-health-effects.asp