A Casual Conversation Leads to a Mission for a Fitness Trainer and Her Dog
HIGHLAND PARK, NJ – July 12, 2021 – Lori Stevens has a passion for helping people. It's at the very essence of her work as a personal trainer at Parker Health Group's Health and Wellness Center.
Lori is filled with those same warm feelings when she looks in the eyes of her black lab, Casey.
So, joining New Jersey Task Force One has been a great way for her to merge two of her greatest loves in life: dogs and community service.
New Jersey Task Force One is an all-volunteer operation that prepares dogs like Casey and their trainers to carry out rescue and recovery efforts.
There are only 28 other FEMA-funded organizations like New Jersey Task Force One in the United States. Its members often rush in when disaster strikes, such as during 9/11, and Hurricane Irma in 2017. Not only does it bring search and rescue dogs, but also personnel with expertise in medical, planning, logical and HAZMAT situations.
Currently, many members have been deployed to southern Florida, where a 12-story tower in the Miami suburb of Surfside suddenly collapsed on June 24. Currently, the volunteers are using the dogs to locate the bodies of victims, helping to bring closure to their families.
Stevens found out about task force about three years ago through a conversation with a program participant at Parker’s Health and Wellness Center. As it turned out, Jim Riley is one of the organization's co-founders.
“At first, I didn't know Jim was the leader of NJTF One,” Stevens said. “I used to talk to him all the time about my dog. He was like, 'Oh, you should join the task force.' And I was like, 'What's the task force?'”
She soon found out that it was group of people with an unparalleled determination and dedication to helping others with the help of their dogs. That struck a perfect chord with her.
Stevens began by volunteering to help train the dogs at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County on weekends. She would lie under a rubble pile posing as a trapped person who was waiting to be "rescued."
Stevens took the next step and contacted the working dog center at the University of Pennsylvania. She fell in love with Casey, and they stayed there for a week refining service dog commands.
She and Casey have since been undergoing New Jersey Task Force One’s rigorous training regimen for the dogs and their trainers.
"Casey is such a funny, goofy dog," Stevens said. "When he's not working, he knows how to relax. He just likes to be by my side all the time. He's always doing silly things. But when we're working, he is so focused, and all the goofiness is gone. It's like two different dogs."
As a provisional member of the task force, Stevens hopes she and Casey will be deployable by the late fall. Casey is being trained as a live-find rescue dog.
"He's been my partner, my dog since September," she said. "He's great. It's been a wonderful experience. "'Getting on the team is like climbing Mount Everest, with all the testing and online courses you have to take. But, it's truly been wonderful."
Riley said he has been impressed by Stevens' enthusiasm, noting she is going to make a great addition to the team.
"She has a lot of dedication," he said. "I met her at Parker and I was telling her about New Jersey Task Force One. I think I had on one of our T-shirts. And she said, 'Boy, I would like to do something like that' because that's what kind of person she is - she wants to help people.