We all remember the day when Alex Ovechkin introduced us to a canine we would be attached to for the next two and a half years. Getting out of the car and entering the red carpet, Ovechkin was carrying the new team dog of the Washington Capitals. Named “Captain”, he would go on to be a big social media hit as he was around the team before going away to training.
Captain was destined for great things and after completing his training he’s been matched with a linemate for life. He got paired with retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Mark Gwathmey. Captain is a part of America’s VetDogs as a service dog in training, an organization that the Caps partnered up with.
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America’s VetDogs is a New York based non profit that provides service dogs to veterans and first responders with disabilities. Gwathmey is a St. Leonard, Maryland resident. Captain was trained to assist him with several tasks and cues to help mitigate his veteran’s disability including retrieving dropped items, counterbalance, summoning assistance, seizure response, positional cues to extend personal space, and PTSD cues such as rest, nightmare interruption and shake.
Captain was just 10 weeks old when we met him during the Rock the Red carpet event. After that, Captain underwent basic training and socialization with the Caps staff, players and fans while being raised by America’s VetDogs area coordinator Deana Stone. The Caps hosted Captain in the front office, at community events, practices and select home games.
Following his puppy raising, Captain returned to the America’s VetDogs campus in Smithtown, New York to undergo his formal service dog training which began in February 2021 with service dog instructor Kim Statsheff. The program was created to provide enhanced mobility and renewed independence to veterans, active duty service members, and first responders with disabilities.
Having a team dog has become very popular in the NHL as the Caps are one of a handful of teams that does it. Here’s hoping they can continue the tradition next season with a Captain 2.0 or a dog with another cool and creative name. But we will certainly miss Captain!
We are so proud of Captain and wish him the best. The best part of course is that he’s staying in the DMV and maybe we’ll get to see him at a home game. As for Gwathmey, he now has a buddy for life or should I say linemate?