Jared adopted his English Yellow Lab, Hooper, from Occupaws. Hooper was training to be a service dog for the blind, but was found to have minor dysplasia in his front elbow and was not able to continue in the program. Hooper’s trainer was a member of the church where Jared is the pastor and knew he was interested in therapy dogs, so the match was made!
Hooper is two years old and has a Shepherd-mix best buddy at home, Bailey, who is also two years old.
Jared and Hooper have already been visiting at nursing homes and hospice centers in his home area of Mt. Horeb. Now that they are Dogs on Call members, they plan to expand their visits to hospitals and other facilities.
Jared, his wife, and two daughters enjoy boating, hiking, visiting state parks, and, along with Hooper and Bailey, meeting lots of dogs and their owners at the dog park. Another favorite activity of Jared’s is build-ing and restoring cars and motorcycles in his shop.