news - 25/04/2010 International "Search and Rescue Dog Day - Austria
by Paul CechInternational “Search and Rescue Dog Day”
Rescue dog teams were in action all around the world
On Sunday the 25th April 2010, the International “Search and Rescue Dog Day” was celebrated around the world.
It all began (due to the different time zones) in Japan with a deployment test. 51 rescue dog teams practised a real life emergency situation. They camped out, had to complete night marches following the strict IRO (International Rescue Dog Organization) testing standards and search for missing people hidden under the rubble.
The „Thailand Rescue Dog Association“ showed the audience how to train for rescue dog work and the UFSD (Ukrainian Federation of Sport with Dogs) in the Ukraine put on, once again, countless performances which particularly inspired children and young people.
More than 500 people attended, for example, the performance put on by the “SARB Rettungshundezugs Berlin “. They also hosted a casting show for “Rescue Dogs”. The president of SARB, Marc Naeter, and his team thought a dozen dogs and dog handlers were so good and interesting, that they have already begun the rescue dog training this week.
The International “Search and Rescue Dog Day“ was celebrated throughout Europe and as far as Canada .
Two Rescue Dog Organizations from the USA were accepted as the 88th and 89th member of the “International Rescue Dog Organization“ on Sunday. The United States of America are therewith now part of the IRO.
The IRO, the umbrella organization for the Rescue Dog Organisations, hosted a big Symposium for the future as part of the “Search and Rescue Dog Day” in Salzburg/Austria, in order to organize the international work to rescue human lives more efficiently.
When the IRO was established in 1993 as an umbrella organization, it was a relatively small Rescue Dog Organization which aim was to protect people’s lives and maintain people’s health by deploying the best trained dogs. Meanwhile 89 Rescue Dog Organizations from 36 countries are now part of the IRO.
The next International “Search and Rescue Dog Day“ will take place on Sunday the 24th April.
