Team Info
Task Force: New York Task Force 2 (NY-TF2)
Agency: New York State Office of Fire Prevention & Control
Level: SUSAR Type I Certified
Most Recent Certification: April 23, 2022
Search Dog Info
Breed: Black Lab
Sex: Male
Born: December 3, 2015
Recruited from: Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in Menands, NY
Sponsors: Mike Johnson, Lynn Ann Casey and Arc Aspicio
Named by: Miller Hill Elementary in New York
Originally named “Lolo,” Echo had been surrendered to a shelter in Tennessee early in 2017 by his owner due to his high energy. At SDF, we believe many of the characteristics we look for in an ideal canine candidate are the reason they end up in shelters: their behavior is too challenging for the average pet owner to handle. These dogs are rambunctious, vocal, jump high fences, and want to play all day.
In the hopes he would have a better chance of adoption, Lolo was transferred north to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in Menands, NY. Once in NY, that shelter’s director of animal welfare realized Echo’s potential and contacted New York Task Force 2 (NY-TF2), based in Albany, knowing they had been searching for dogs for SDF to train.
After running Lolo through SDF-sanctioned testing at a training site, NY-TF2 members agreed that Lolo had search dog potential and immediately contacted staff at SDF. Upon seeing videos of Lolo’s tests, SDF trainers agreed that he had promise in the search and rescue field and plans were made for him to travel to California for formal training.
The task force wanted to change Lolo’s name and decided to allow a 5th grade class at Miller Hill Elementary to choose it. At the time, the students were learning about disaster services focusing on search and rescue canines. The class voted on “Echo” from a list provided by the task force, which SDF’s trainers had already approved.
Echo arrived at SDF’s National Training Center in California in June 2017 and began to learn his new career. He was a star student and athlete and enjoyed the search and rescue elements immensely. Echo completed training and graduated on February 2, 2018, when he was paired with Fire Protection Specialist Brook Rowley of the New York State Office of Fire Prevention & Control.
The new team trained regularly at home in New York and returned to California to achieve Type I certification on May 20, 2019. This status allows Brook and Echo to deploy regionally with their department and nationally with NY-TF2.
Since then, the team has deployed on the following missions:
- September 3, 2019 – Hurricane Dorian – North Carolina
- July 25, 2020 – Missing Person Search – Hoosick Falls, NY
- September 6, 2020 – Missing Person Search – Blenheim, NY
- September 1, 2021 – Hurricane Ida – Orange County, NJ
In April 2022, Brook and Echo returned to the National Training Center to be sure they were ready for their upcoming Certification with teammates Greg Gould & Dax. Brook & Echo passed their FSA here on-campus on April 12 and Greg texted me this message of their success after certifying on April 23 in Kansas. “They did awesome and passed with flying colors! No issues at all!”
We’re not surprised they did so well based on how we saw them work together during their visit. Brook is great handler for Echo and his strong search skills!