Federal Rescue Dog Association

The Federal Rescue Dog Association (German: Bundesverband Rettungshunde e.V., or BRH) is a German non-profit organization dedicated to the training, testing and deployment of search-and-rescue dogs. Founded in 1976, it is described as the largest and oldest rescue dog organization in Germany, with a nationwide network of local squadrons. Its work supports the search for missing persons — a category that, according to the organization, involves around 100,000 reported missing persons in Germany each year, many of them elderly people or children who become lost or incapacitated in forests and other difficult terrain. The BRH operates through local rescue dog squadrons (Rettungshundestaffeln) spread across the German federal states, including Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia. According to figures published on its website, the association has 94 rescue dog squadrons, 2,317 active members, 684 passive members and more than 151,500 supporting members. It reports 1,366 rescue dogs, of which 809 are tested and operational, with 1,450 alarm deployments and 1,055 total missions, resulting in 52 persons found by the BRH. Beyond domestic search-and-rescue work, the BRH has engaged in international humanitarian relief. In March 2022, following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the BRH (based in Hünxe) and I.S.A.R. Germany (based in Duisburg) jointly sent 53 tons of humanitarian aid to the conflict zone, transporting supplies by truck to a warehouse in Poland and then onward to Zhytomyr, around 100 kilometers from Kyiv, where aid was delivered to a maternity clinic, a day-care center and the local authority. The organization is structured as a registered association (e.V.) with regional associations and local squadrons. It functions as a volunteer-based civil-protection and emergency-response partner, training dogs for tasks such as area search, mantrailing and disaster response. Its long history, nationwide footprint and large membership base make it a central institution in German search-and-rescue dog work.

The Federal Rescue Dog Association (Bundesverband Rettungshunde e.V., BRH) was founded in 1976, making it the oldest rescue dog organization in Germany. Over the following decades it grew into the country's largest such organization, building a nationwide structure of regional associations and local rescue dog squadrons. By 2018, according to Chinese Wikipedia, the association had around 70 local chapters, approximately 714 qualified rescue dogs and 1,013 dogs in training. The organization's mission centers on training dogs and their handlers for search-and-rescue operations, including area search and disaster response, and on making these volunteer teams available to authorities when people go missing. Its website notes that around 100,000 people are reported missing in Germany each year, many of them elderly or children who become lost or suffer accidents in forests and other difficult terrain. By the early 2020s the BRH reported 94 rescue dog squadrons across the German federal states, with 2,317 active members, 684 passive members and more than 151,500 supporting members. It listed 1,366 rescue dogs, of which 809 were tested and operational, and reported 1,450 alarm deployments and 1,055 total missions, with 52 persons found by the BRH. In March 2022, in response to the war in Ukraine, the BRH (based in Hünxe) partnered with I.S.A.R. Germany (based in Duisburg) to send 53 tons of humanitarian aid to the conflict zone. The supplies were trucked to a warehouse in Poland and then to Zhytomyr, about 100 kilometers from Kyiv, where they were delivered to a maternity clinic, a day-care center and the local authority. This episode illustrates the association's role extending beyond domestic search-and-rescue into international humanitarian relief.

• 2022

  BRH and I.S.A.R. Germany sent 53 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, delivered to Zhytomyr.

• 2018

  Reported around 70 local chapters, approximately 714 qualified rescue dogs and 1,013 dogs in training.

• 1976

  Federal Rescue Dog Association founded in Germany.

Germany's largest and oldest rescue dog organization, operating as a volunteer-based civil-protection and emergency-response partner.

• Rescue dog training

  Training of dogs and handlers for search-and-rescue tasks, including area search and disaster response.

• Rescue dog squadrons

  Local volunteer squadrons across German federal states available for emergency deployment.

• Humanitarian aid logistics

  Coordination and transport of humanitarian aid supplies, as in the 2022 Ukraine relief effort.

1. 1Dogs rescuing people. - BRH Bundesverband Rettungshunde e.V.bundesverband-rettungshunde.de
2. 2Federal Rescue Dog Association - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3德國聯邦救難犬協會 - 维基百科zh.wikipedia.org