Join Other Top Dogs in Giving Back!

By Dani Sheehan. 

Learn about a unique partnership between K9s for Warriors and TRI-BUILT's Blu, and how you (and your dog) can get involved. 

Whether you’re a dog lover and owner, active military or a veteran, or just enjoy heartwarming stories about giving back, you won’t want to miss the latest episode of Roofing Road Trips! Heidi J. Ellsworth sits down with Chelsea Oesch, marketing director for Beacon Building Products’ private brand TRI-BUILT® and Steven Carmichael, development manager at K9s for Warriors to discuss an inspiring partnership. They’ve teamed up to help pair K9s with veterans in need and share details about this initiative, as well as how you show your support. 

There are a lot of great rescue organizations, but not very many do the work that K9s for Warriors does. As Steven shares about the company, “Here at K9s, we exist for one reason, and that is to end veteran suicide. Right now, we estimate about 22 veterans take their lives a day, so almost one an hour. Our goal is to go out into our communities here in Florida and Texas, rescue dogs from high kill shelters, train those dogs and pair them with veterans.” These dogs are typically paired with veterans suffering from PTSD and a variety of other injuries or mental illness. They’ve recently announced the graduation of more than 900 veterans with their service dogs.  

TRI-BUILT chose Blu as their mascot because, as Chelsea says, “We wanted something that our contractors could connect with...Blu embodies all the qualities we want our customers to feel when they use the TRI-BUILT product, so protection, trust, loyalty, all those things that people think about their dog.” They loved how K9s for Warriors’ mission aligned with their company values, and in 2022, sponsored one Warrior pair. “To keep our customers involved with the partnership, we opened a naming contest for the dog that we sponsored,” Chelsea says. One of their contractors suggested Dakota, which “means friendly companion to the Native American Sioux tribe. So we felt like that was just kind of the perfect name if someone was going to get their dog and if they could know the meaning behind it that maybe that would help them as well.”  

Dakota was paired with a veteran named Eddie, and the two celebrated their graduation this past January. This year, TRI-BUILT is now sponsoring two Warrior-K9 pairs, and Chelsea hopes to continue to grow this support year-over-year. They strongly believe in keeping their customers active and want to spread the word about the work at K9s for Warriors and everything else going on.  

Your dog can become friends with Blu on Instagram, and for the second year, they are holding a Top Dogs calendar contest. It opens on September 5, and as Chelsea explains, it gives “contractors the opportunity to win a thousand dollars towards their favorite rescue mission, [and] at the same time, have their pup’s photo featured in our print calendar.” Everyone that submits a photo of their dog will be given a calendar, and it’s a great way to connect with the company and other contractors through a shared love of dogs. 

Don’t miss your opportunity to get involved not only with a fun contest, but a great cause!  

Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more about the amazing work at K9s for Warriors and one example of how the roofing industry is giving back.