Date of intake:: 10/14/2026

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray, no known history

Date of assessment:: 10/16/2026

Summary:: Jester has shown fearful behavior since entering the care center, including a reluctance to be leashed. During his handling assessment, he was avoidant of handlers, pacing and seeking exit from the room. While he approached handlers with some coaxing, he then backed up and attempted to flee on feeling leash pressure when positioning him for handling. Due to his fearful behavior, a handling assessment was not completed.

Summary:: Jester arrived as a stray, so his behavior with other dogs is unknown. 10/29/26: Jester greets a novel female dog through a barrier, displaying tense and fearful body language. When the loose, wiggly female jumps onto the gate, Jester repeatedly flinches backward and vocalizes. Despite his fear, Jester shows some social interest and slowly inches forward several times to attempt to sniff toward the female before retreating again. Due to his continued fearful and conflicted body language, Jester is moved away and the interaction is ended.

Summary (6):: 10/31/26: Jester is standing at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He begins jumping and barking at the door as the handler unlocks it. He would back away as the handler attempts to leash him and is comfortable being clipped to his collar. He is then taken outside for a walk. On the walk, he has a neutral body frame as he explores around with sniffing. He would constantly pull towards trees to mark his territory. When returning back to his kennel, he is able to quickly enter when treats are tossed inside. When the handler closes the door and begins to lock the door, he then lunges, muzzle punches the door, and begins to bark, snarl and bare teeth as the handler locks it. The handler tosses in more treats, and he eats them treats as the handler walks away and ends interaction. 10/31/26: Jester is reported to whip around after returning to his kennel, lunging towards the kennel door and handler. Handler was able to close the door and Jester is baring teeth at the front of his kennel. (2) When a behavior staff member goes to retrieve the leash that was still on Jester due to his hard barking, the staff member felt uncomfortable getting it back. When approached Jester is whining, pawing at the door and barking. Jester will pace and pant heavily in his kennel and when the handler goes to reach for his leash he stands and begins to bark again and move away, but allows the handler grab it and unclip it. Jester continues to try and push and paw at the handler, but when the door is closed he begins to lunge at the glass and bark again. 10/30/26 (Late Entry): Jester is laying down at the front of the kennel as the handler approaches. He stands up and the handler is able to clip his collar without issue. Jester is taken outside for a brief walk before going to the play yard. In the yard, Jester explores on his own. When the handler finds a ball and throws it for him, Jester chases the ball and carries it around in his mouth. The handler offers him treats in exchange for the ball, but Jester attempts to eat treats with the ball still in his mouth. He drops the ball next to the treats, eats them, then immediately picks up the ball again. Jester carries the ball around more, tossing it to himself and catching it. When it's time to go, the handler leashes him with the slip lead and Jester carries the ball part of the way back to the building. He is returned to his kennel without issue.

Summary (7):: 10/18/26: Jester is standing at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He would constantly back away and dodge the leash each time it got close to him. He then allows the handler to clip their on his collar with no issue, and is then taken outside for a walk. On the walk, he pulls hard ahead as he sniffs around to explore. He would constantly stop walking to mark his territory and would constantly stop to engage in trying to lick urine off the ground. He has no reactions to dogs or people and pulls hard on the way back to his kennel. He is able to enter with no issues. 10/16/26: Jester is standing at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He is able to be quickly lassoed as he attempts to dodge and avoid the leash, and is then taken to the behavior room for his assessment. In the room, he has a neutral body frame as he would pace around and sniff to explore. He would continue to pace around as the handlers attempt to get his attention. He would constantly back away from the handlers and approach the doors to seek exit. Due to this, his assessment is unable to be completed. He is then able to return back to his kennel with no issues. 10/16/26: Jester is standing in the back of his kennel with a tense body as handler approaches. He comes to the front while spinning and barking as handler unlocks the door. He dodges the leash a couple times but allows handler to drape a large loop over his head. He is removed from kennel and taken to the street for a walk. He takes treats gently throughout walk and will occasionally turn to approach handler. Jester pulls moderately on leash as he sniffs the ground. When passing stationary cars he pulls towards them, when dogs walk past he does not react. Jester's movements are frantic, pacing and darting in different directions, while heavily panting and hypersalivating. He is returned to his kennel without issue. 10/15/26: Jester is standing at the front of his kennel that is covered in feces and saliva as handler approaches. He begins to jump up at the door as the handler unlocks it and would then back away when the handler presents their leash. He would back and away and dodge the leash each time it got close to him. He would attempt to run out of the kennel then back away when the leash loop got close to him. He is able to be quickly leashed when he attempts to run out of the kennel, and is then taken outside for a walk. On the walk, he pulls hard with a neutral body as he sniffs around to explore. He would constantly stop walking to mark his territory. He has no reactions to dogs or people and pulls hard on the way back to his kennel before entering with no issues.

Date of intake:: 10/14/2026

Summary:: Field driver reported high FAS

Date of initial:: 10/14/2026

Summary:: Noted to have high FAS per field driver, sedated as precaution

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

Recommendations:: No children (under 13),Recommend no dog parks,Place with a New Hope partner

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to Jester's fearful behavior, we recommend an adult home at this time. Recommend no dog parks: Due to Jester's behavior we recommend he does not visit dog parks. Place with a New Hope partner: Jester has not acclimated well to the kennel environment and has allowed only minimal handling since intake. We recommend placement with a New Hope partner who can provide any necessary behavior modification (force-free, positive reinforcement-based) and re-evaluate behavior in a stable home environment before placement into a permanent home.

Potential challenges: : Fearful,Anxiety

Potential challenges comments:: Fearful | Anxiety: Jester has shown highly fearful behavior while in the care center, and has been avoidant of leashing and handling. During his handling assessment, he paced and sought exit from the room and then backed away and attempted to flee when being positioned near the handler using the leash. He also showed anxiety, pacing the office during his assessment, and has shown similar fast pacing on walks. It is important to always go slow and give him the option to walk away from any social interaction. Jester should never be forced to approach anything that he is uncomfortable with or to submit to petting or handling. It should always be his choice to approach a new person or thing. He would do best in an initially calm and quiet home environment and should be given time to acclimate to his new surroundings. Please see handout on Decompression Period and Generalized Anxiety.