Farmingdale service dog Jared Scot Daler to be honored at gala

Jared Scot Daler, the yellow Labrador who became part of Farmingdale High School’s daily rhythm after a devastating bus crash, was honored Wednesday night at Canine Companions’ Sit. Stay. Sparkle! Northeast gala in Great Neck. The event at Leonard’s Palazzo, 555 Northern Blvd., centered on Daler’s work at school and his path into service training.

Guests heard from clients, met service dogs and puppies, bid in live and silent auctions, and watched the premiere of the organization’s newest short film. The fundraiser came after a story that started on Interstate 84 in Wawayanda, Orange County, when the Farmingdale High School marching band bus crashed on Sept. 21, 2023. Band director Gina Pellettiere, 43, and retired teacher-chaperone Beatrice Ferrari, 77, were killed, and dozens of students were injured.

In the aftermath, Dean of Students Fred Falcones suggested bringing in Canine Companions dogs to help the school community. Superintendent Paul Defendini approved the idea and later became a volunteer puppy raiser himself. Defendini fostered Daler starting when the dog was 8 weeks old and kept him until May 2024, when formal service-dog training began at the Medford facility. Defendini later said the dogs helped students open up emotionally again and that music returned to the band room within a week of the visits.

Daler quickly became more than a visitor. The dog showed up around the school and at community events, and Farmingdale High School’s P.A.W.S. Club celebrated Daler’s birthday while raising nearly $6,000 for Canine Companions.

Daler graduated from the Medford facility on Nov. 7, 2025, and was matched with Lauren Hemmerly, 39, of Medford. Hemmerly, a three-time service-dog recipient with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, says Daler helps her navigate stairs, crowded spaces and snowy parking lots on the way to her car.