Helping veterans one paw at a time

By Evelyn Witterholt. 

Hear from veterans about their experience with K9s For Warriors. 

Grab your tissues! Our latest Coffee Conversations is one of our most moving episodes to date. During this episode, sponsored by Beacon Building Products and TRI-BUILT®, we shine a spotlight on K9s For Warriors, an organization that provides service dogs to military veterans. We spoke with two veterans whose lives were changed by their service dog, as well as representatives from Beacon and K9s For Warriors. 

K9s For Warriors’ mission is to end veteran suicide by providing them with service dogs. Kiersan Cue, a development manager for the organization, tells us that roughly 20 veterans die by suicide every day and it’s their mission to change that. The majority of their dogs are rescue dogs as well, so the bond created between them and the veterans is a two-way street. 

“We will not stop until 20 a day becomes zero a day,” she said. “We call it saving lives at both ends of the leash.” 

Chelsea Oesch, the marketing director for private label at Beacon, tells us that one of the company’s pillars is helping veterans. The company began their partnership with K9s For Warriors in 2022 by sponsoring a warrior pair (a dog and a veteran). Since then, their work with the organization has grown. 

“In 2024, at our Beacon Leadership Summit, we partnered with 12 of our TRI-BUILT vendor partners to support us alongside giving more back to K9 for Warriors,” she said. “So those 12 vendor partners committed to dogs, along with our original commitment, and we were able to give a $400,000 donation to K9 For Warriors, which equates to 16 warrior pairs, saving 32 lives.” 

We got to hear from two veterans whose lives have been changed by this organization. Joe Moreno, a Navy veteran, and Bill Lins, a Marine Corps veteran. The two shared their difficult experiences of returning home and how K9s For Warriors changed their lives. 

“My dog’s name is Eagle. He's a highly energetic goofball of a dog. We couldn't have been a better match,” Joe shared. “He's really been a game changer... And really the thing with a dog is, they don't judge you and they don't really care.” 

“He doesn't let me out of his sight ever,” Bill said when discussing his own dog Link. “And to have that around all day long, every single day is a really remarkable thing. You can do all of the therapy in the world, but none of it is 24 hours a day. None of it is seven days a week. And that's what these dogs offer.” 

Read the transcript, Listen to the episode or Watch the entire Coffee Conversations to learn more about Beacon’s work with K9s For Warriors.