Family Owned & Operated
DISCOVER K9 (662-419-8718) is a family-owned and operated business run by Rickey & Kelly Hooker from their hometown near Pontotoc, Mississippi. Discover K9 was relocated to Northern Mississippi, from the Florida Panhandle. Since Kelly & Rickey still have many dog training clients in the Florida area, they are making monthly pickups for new doggy students. They will be glad to work you at your earliest convenience. When you call or email, you will reach Kelly- she handles all of the contacts, reservations and questions.� Kelly is also responsible for picking up and returning your dog. If your dog is enrolled in our 30 day in-house training, he/she will be trained by both Rickey and Kelly. They will work together to plan the training program for your dog.
Rickey & Kelly will be glad to conduct free demonstrations of their own dogs or dogs they are currently training whenever possible. PLEASE CALL 662-419-8718. Please feel free to contact Discover K9 with questions regarding demos.
Experience
Rickey Hooker is the Owner and Training Director of Discover K9. He recently separated from the United States Air Force and left his position as Military Working Dog Trainer at Eglin Air Force Base. He has been married to his wife, Kelly, for 17 years; and they have 2 children . They were stationed at Eglin for 6 years; but after 10 years in the military, they decided to move back to their hometown in MS. Although Rickey received his first formal dog training/handling at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas; he has really been learning about dogs his entire life. He continues to work hard to perfect his skills as a dog trainer/handler/teacher. Rickey has sought out training from some of the best dog trainers in the country and enjoys studying what others do right and wrong with dogs. He has a unique ability to incorporate many different ideas to form his own dog training approach. Rickey is a great teacher and enjoys helping others perfect their techniques too.While at Eglin Air Force Base, Rickey was chosen by the military to attend a NORTH STATE K-9 ACADEMY of TARHEEL CANINE INC in North Carolina., a civilian K-9 Trainer's School which earned him the title of "Master K9 Trainer". During this six week school, he gained experience training civilian obedience dogs, their owners and new dog handlers. He attended a Drug and Explosive Detection Instructor's Course taught by Randy Hare with Alpha K9 
from Jackson, MS. He has also attended seminars taught by Fred Hassen of SIT MEANS SIT from� Las Vegas, NV where he learned the proper use of Remote Collar Training.He has worked in conjuction with Jason Purgason - of Highland Canine Training in North Carolina to conduct a week long Basic Police Canine & SWAT and Advanced Detection seminar for Eglin Air Force Base near Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Rickey was in charge of the training of all Eglin's Military Working Dogs and K9 Handlers. Although his official job was in the Working Dog Field, he has experience with hundreds of behavioral and obedience problems; and the civilian schools that he has attended have given him extra skills to tackle even the most difficult dogs and he enjoys the challenge. Rickey enjoys teaching and helping other K9 handlers with their dogs. He has trained K9 teams forNiceville Police Department in Niceville, Florida and has consulted other local agencies including Bob Dudley with Okaloosa Sheriff's Dept. in Okaloosa County, Florida. Rickey has also worked with Dr. Robert Gillette at Auburn University Veterinary School.
Rickey and Kelly adopted Rickey's Military Working Dog Jacco in 2007. Jacco served the US Air Force for 10 years before retirement. He spent almost 7 months in Kirkuk, Iraq with Rickey in 2004. When SSgt Hooker took Jacco to USPCA Mini-Trials in October 2006 earning a score of 195.5 out of 200 possible points; this was the first time Jacco had competed.
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Kelly is proud and honored to have been involved in the construction and dedication of The Working Dog Memorial located at The Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin Air Force Base, Fort Walton Beach, Florida. This memorial was dedicated in 2008 to "Honor and remember all handlers and their faithful K-9 partners for their service and sacrifice." This monument named, "Faithful Partner - Guardian of the Night" was sculpted by Susan Bahary in California. Kelly and a small group of dedicated volunteers raised money locally and all over world via the internet to pay for this project. Hundreds of K-9 handlers worldwide followed the project and many made donations. Locally, The Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter 566 lead by Bill Sharon and Max Wright provided invaluable support. Many of the MOPH 566 helped raise money for this project and it couldn't have been accomplished without them. Special recognition should be given to Michele Ortiz, Michelle Stringert, Scott Millard, Eglin Air Force Base Security Forces, Hulburt Field Security Forces, The Air Force Armament Museum Staff and many others who volunteered numerous hours for this project. www.militaryworkingdogmemorial.com