Desert Dogs Breeds Success

Desert Dogs was founded in 2020 and has grown from about four people and a single truck to over 60 employed veterans and 22 trucks. (Desert Dogs/Submitted)

Desert Dogs was founded by Anthony Calderon, a Navy veteran, and Lacey Rank, who served in the Phoenix Police Department, to provide veterans employment, housing and support. (Desert Dogs/Submitted)

BY ALLISON BROWN

Sound of Freedom Staff Writer

Desert Veterans started as an idea between two colleagues who saw a way to fi ll a need. Also known as Desert Dogs, the concept was simple — people need to get rid of their junk, and veterans who have a hard time adjusting need work. Why not put them together?

Navy veteran Anthony Calderon and Lacey Rank, who served in the Phoenix Police Department, founded Desert Dogs to provide veterans employment, housing and a long-term opportunity to work and grow with a company that understands that the transition from military to civilian life can be diffi cult.

Calderon and Rank worked together at a company with a similar vision. When that company went under, Calderon and Rank opened Desert Dogs to continue that mission.

“We work with the Phoenix Veterans Administration to hire veterans who are displaced, who are coming home and having a hard time transitioning,” Calderon says.

“Many of these that we work with have had prior drug off enses or other felonies that have precluded them from getting other jobs. But our motto is that we care about who you are today, not who you were yesterday.”

Desert Dogs launched in January 2020, and Calderon says it was an immediate success. Th e company landed contracts with local home builders to do cleanup and compliance. Since then, Desert Dogs has expanded in every way — its employees, its services and its coverage area.

“We began with one truck and about four people,” Calderon says. “Today, we have 64 employees and 22 trucks.”

While continuing to work with the Phoenix VA, Desert Dogs recently expanded to Prescott and the Prescott Valley VA. It also partners with U.S. Vets, a nonprofi t organization that runs homeless shelters for veterans, to fi nd veterans looking for work. Desert Dogs off ers more than jobs. Veterans are off ered a

place to stay.

“We can put them in our home and charge them rent — a low rent — but they are able to build up their credit. Th en, by working with us, they make money, and they usually stay in our house around six to eight months before they’re able to save up enough money and improve their credit enough to get an apartment on their own,” Calderon says.

“And then they continue working with us and obviously hopefully continue to build that life back. So, that’s kind of our goal, not just to employ them, but if they need housing then to provide them housing and help them get back on their feet.”

Calderon served in the early ’80s, outside of confl icts, and did not have problems transitioning to civilian life. Th at’s not the case for many, and Calderon says most of the veterans he works with have PTSD.

Desert Dogs is forgiving of past issues and even tries to help employees work through current issues.

“We do random drug tests, and if they don’t pass the drug test then we will put them through rehab,” Calderon says. “If they refuse rehab, we have to let them go just for legal reasons, but if they go to rehab and they get better, their job is there for them when they get back. We understand that it’s not always the fi rst time you quit that you actually quit for good. … Th ose that want to be helped, we absolutely do it.”

Th e goal is to help veterans get back on their feet and set them up for success. Even within the company, Calderon says there is a lot of opportunity for growth. Most people start on

Co-owner Anthony Calderon says the company is a “second chance” employer, understanding that life is a roller coaster. (Desert Dogs/Submitted)

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Both veterans, Stevan Cunningham, left, is the vice president for marketing communications, and Benjamin Brown, right, is a mechanic. (Desert Dogs/Submitted)

a truck doing junk removal for $16 an hour, but they can do training to move up to more skilled labor services, where they can make $23 to $25 an hour.

In fact, the human resources, operations and skilled labor directors all started on the ground level and grew into management positions.

Once the employees get training and experience under their belt, Calderon says it’s common for them to get job offers from other companies. Some choose to stay with Desert Dogs — even with lower pay.

“I’m not sure if it’s a military thing or just personal, but there’s a lot of pride in who you work for and a lot of devotion for those who have shown you the type of respect that maybe other people didn’t,” he says.

More so, Calderon says a lot of the veterans just appreciate being around like-minded people who are going through similar struggles. According to Calderon, about half of the employees don’t have a driver’s license, so every morning, they are picked up in the truck and ride to work together. They have a lot of time to talk, and Calderon says a lot of them find it therapeutic.

In addition, Desert Dogs has Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts every year. It also provides fun outings like bowling and ax throwing just to remind everyone that they are valued and appreciated.

“Our goal is to celebrate them any chance we get,” Calderon says. “So, if there’s a reason to have a party, we have a party.”

Seeing how successful the company has been with jobs and in its mission of helping veterans, Calderon says they are looking to replicate that success within and beyond Arizona. Desert Dogs plans to have a Tucson location open by the end of the year. On a bigger scale, Calderon says VA offices in Portland and Eugene, Oregon, have proposed partnerships. Calderon says he hopes to move into other areas where the company can partner with the Veterans Administration.

Thank you... Thank you... TO OUR NATION’S HEROES AND THEIR FAMILIES! TO OUR NATION’S HEROES AND THEIR FAMILIES!