Samaritan Association rescue dogs: Indispensable in disaster relief – 2024-04-27 15:35:42

A fine dog’s nose beats technology: When the search for buried and missing people has to be done quickly, rescue dogs are unbeatable, as the Samaritan Association knows.

Vienna (OTS) – Whether searching for missing people or finding buried people after an earthquake: thanks to their trained senses, rescue dogs are always life savers. In order to draw worldwide attention to the incredible achievements of the top-trained animals, International Rescue Dog Day is celebrated annually – this year on Sunday, April 28th.

Samaritans on four paws: in action nationally and internationally

The Samaritan Association has highly qualified rescue dog teams in Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Tyrol and Vienna. These are an important part of national disaster relief and are deployed throughout Austria together with other national relief units in the event of major damage. International disaster relief benefits from specially trained rubble search dogs from the Samaritan Association. The most recent success was during the major earthquake in Turkey in 2023, where the international Samaritan Association disaster relief unit “Samaritan Austria – Rapid Response Team” (SA-RRT) was able to save several buried people alive with four-legged support.

“The volunteer Samaritan Association dog teams are available day and night and are always there when it comes to saving lives. Thank you very much for that!” explains Samariterbund federal managing director Reinhard Hundsmüller.

Unbeatable sleuths

To this day, a dog’s sense of detection is superior to technology. For example, a dog’s nose can detect molecules in such small quantities that a trained dog can find two grains of sand on a sandy beach that is 50 meters long, 50 meters wide and 50 centimeters deep!

The demands on a rescue dog, regardless of whether it is a mantrailer (person detection dog) or a rubble search dog, are high – the training is correspondingly demanding. Regular training, exercises and tests are part of the routine, both for the dogs and the dog handlers. “The effort is great, but it pays off: Thanks to their excellent sense of smell, trained rubble search dogs can track down people who are buried several meters under rubble. They are also able to move over fragile cones of rubble after an earthquake without putting the buried person at additional risk. This means that the dogs are vastly superior to modern technical means – and in certain disaster cases they are simply irreplaceable,” explains Samaritan Association federal operations manager Benjamin Manahl.

Your donation for the Samaritan Association rescue dogs

Training to become a four-legged lifesaver requires a lot of dedication and volunteer commitment. Support the Samaritan Rescue Dogs with a donation – thank you very much!

Donation account:
Austrian Workers’ Samaritan Association
IBAN: AT04 1200 0513 8891 4144 (BIC: BKAUATWW)
Intended use: rescue dogs
Online: www.samariterbund.net/spenden/rettungshunde

Questions & Contact:

Franziska Springer
Press and public relations
Austrian Workers’ Samaritan Association
Hollergasse 2-6, 1150 Wien
Mobil +43 664 88 94 88 35
Email franziska.springer@samariterbund.net