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The Legion and Wounded Warriors Canada celebrate a unique milestone

OTTAWA, ON,  February 26, 2026 – The Royal Canadian Legion’s Ontario Command joined Wounded Warriors Canada (WWC) at a special event in Ottawa this week to celebrate the 100^th pairing of a service dog and Veteran, made possible thanks to the Command’s strong financial commitment. The Veteran, named John, is already seeing the life-changing effects of his relationship with his new dog named Pauly.

“I don’t know if I can put into words what Pauly has brought into my life,” he said, describing how he was at a point of being afraid to leave his house with what he was going through internally, and how it was affecting his family life. His powerful words reflected how everything changed with Pauly.

“She gets me out the door, not just out of the front door of my house but she has opened a door to a new beginning. Getting our life back,” he shared.

“We are extremely proud of what Ontario Command has accomplished through its association with Wounded Warriors Canada,” says Berkley Lawrence, Dominion President. “The achievement of pairing one hundred highly trained service animals with Veterans in need of specialized care and assistance, is a feat beyond description.”

“We are humbled to have had a role in helping these heroes find their footing, and these dogs find their purpose,” says Lynn McClellan, Ontario Command President. “One soul can endure the weight of service but two working together, eases the pain.”

The Legion’s Ontario Command, though its “Operation Service Dog” initiative, became the first large entity to support WWC’s training and pairing program in 2018. It has provided $2.7 million to the program since then. The initiative is supported by donations from branches and Ladies’ Auxiliaries in Ontario, and many lives have been dramatically changed as a result. The sometimes-emotional event included supportive remarks from government leaders representing differing parties, and additional heartfelt words from Ontario Command.

“These are funds that have supported the training and pairing of service dogs for dozens of Veterans within Ontario Command,” said Ron Goebel, Ontario Command Chair. “Service dogs that assist our Veterans to increase their independence, improve their mental health, assist them with their daily activities, and improve their quality of life.”

WWC provides service dogs to Veterans living with an operational stress injury (OSI) – specifically Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The organization shared that with the collapse of the federal government’s expected national training standards for such dogs – a critical tool also supported by the Legion’s Dominion Command – it eventually developed its own and continues to ensure their quality to this day. Now having paired close to five hundred service dogs and Veterans within its wider program, the WWC credits Ontario Command’s branches and Ladies Auxiliaries for having been “transformational” along the way.

“I remember the day when we began conversations with The Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command,” recalled Capt. (Ret’d) Philip C. Ralph, CD, Director of Clinical Services with Wounded Warriors Canada. “It was Ontario Command that was first, and saw the possibilities…Look where it has taken us today.”

In addition to the significant financial commitment required, it takes a tremendous amount of time to successfully match a dog and a Veteran. According to one of several training groups involved in the process, FireTeam K9 Service Dogs, it takes an average of two years to train a dog, and to familiarize a Veteran with their new friend and caregiver.

The symbolism of this milestone did not go unnoticed and was mentioned at the event – it was fitting that the celebration of this 100^th pairing happened to take place during the Legion’s 100^th anniversary year. A truly remarkable achievement, which the Legion’s founders could never have imagined.

About The Royal Canadian Legion

Incorporated in 1926, the Legion is Canada’s largest Veteran support and community service organization. We are a non-profit organization with a national reach across Canada as well as branches in the U.S. and Europe. With 270,000 members, many of whom volunteer an extraordinary amount of time to their branches, our strength is in our numbers.

Public Relations / Media Inquiries: PublicRelations@Legion.ca/ 343-540-7604 - Nujma Bond

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