From 18 to 23 September, the IRO 2018 World Championship for Rescue Dogs was held in Ljubljana with 233 rescue dog handlers participating in it.

The championship organised by the Rescue Dog Unit Ljubljana with the support of the City of Ljubljana and the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief was hosted in Ljubljana for the second time already with 233 rescue dog handlers from 59 clubs and 24 countries taking part in it. They competed in tracking, searching for missing persons in natural environment and rescuing from ruins. All dogs had to pass the obedience test, as well.

The activities of the International Rescue Dog Organisation IRO promote the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the field of rescue dog training. The work of rescue dog handlers is based on values which are important for the safety of individuals and the community. Rescue dogs remain indispensable in finding missing persons in nature, avalanches or ruins after earthquakes or other disasters, and searching for different – also dangerous – substances, and are thus of great assistance to people. But as good as a rescue dog may be it can’t perform its job well without a highly trained rescuer guiding the dog through the training and exercises as well as dedicating a lot of his free time to the dog practically every day.