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“It’s awesome. The people you are helping appreciate it so much.”--Jarrod Cooper
If Jarrod Cooper had his way he would let the dogs, cats and all of God’s, domesticated and otherwise, critters out. His vision would be that all of these wonderful animals would be placed in loving, educated and responsible homes. This dream has come to be a passion with him, a cause that he selflessly works on squeezing out time to further the advancement of Help Code 597, Inc.
His love of animals began a very long time ago and his childhood dreams included a profession as a veterinarian. This dream was put on hold as another profession came into his life. His time with the Oakland Raiders is a full time job as it is, however, he still finds time to devote to his beloved animals. He knows that animals will play a huge part in his future. “I’m going into year eight, “ he said of his time already spent with the NFL. “I’ve probably got about 2 or 3 years left in the NFL, and so I am trying to set up something that I can do afterwards.” Thus the creation of Code 597,---
One of the ways that he has gotten word out about Code 597 is an event that he has been holding the first Saturday of every month at the Oakland Animal Shelter. “We give people tours and education on the animals. This is a rescue center, not a dog pound where animals are put to death. These people rescue animals out of situations that their owners have put them in,” he explained. The rescue center gets these animals ready for adoption into loving homes. Cooper has also taken classes that enable him to recognize animals that have futures as possible seeing-eye dogs, police dogs, bomb sniffing and the list goes on and on. “That’s really upped the adoption. It’s not just into homes; there are jobs out there for animals,” Jarrod said. This coming Saturday, May 10th from 1-5 pm will be the fifth event that he has held at the shelter. It is always a day of fun, learning and support of this worthy cause. Come on out all you Raider fans, tailgate with Coop, and maybe even adopt that fuzzy little companion that you have been thinking about for awhile now. There will be Raider players, Raiderettes, great food, and a raffle. The shelter is located at 101 29th Avenue, Oakland 94601. You can reach them at (510) 535-5602. As a special bonus, there will be parade that morning in Castro Valley and the Raider Nation needs to come on out and join in the fun proudly displaying their colors. If you would like more information on this morning event please call Vella’s at (510) 727-0750. Don’t miss a minutes of this event coming up Saturday as it promises to be a load of fun. Bring mom along; she just might absolutely love a furry critter for Mother’s Day. For any questions regarding this organization feel free to contact them at HelpCode597.com. See you all there on Saturday. |
Copyright © 2008 All rights reserved.
By Barbara Mason 5/6/08
Before I get into exactly what Help Code 597, Inc. is
I will explain how all of this came about. It all happened when Cooper
first began volunteering at the Oakland Animal Shelter in 2007. He was
heart broken at what he found there. He could not believe the number of
injured and neglected animals that were dropped off at the shelter. He
was soon to discover that it is a whole lot more than “I want to
volunteer.” One has to be certified and that was something that he
welcomed. Whatever it took to get involved he was more than willing to
do. His one-hour a week turned into six hours a week. Whatever was
needed he was there to help whether it be walking the animals, cleaning
kennels or performing improvement tasks at the shelter. No chore was too
big or too small for Coop.
The California Penal Code for Animal Abuse and
Neglect is Code 597, which was an obvious and appropriate name for the
non-profit organization that Jarrod Cooper has put together. “We came up
with the program and formed it as a non-profit with its purpose keeping
animals out of shelters,” Cooper explained. “It provides education and
charitable services to people that may not know how to take care of their
animals. They don’t know what they have at their fingertips as far as
help with the training etc. The Oakland Animal Shelter has been doing so
much. One hundred percent of the money we raise goes straight to helping
these animals. Not just dogs and cats, but horses, goats, snakes,
hamsters and you name it.” He has been working this entire off-season on
this project and the results have been more rewarding than he ever
dreamed. “It’s awesome. The people you are helping appreciate it so
much,” he said.