The city of Gdansk is an important seaport in northern Poland. It also is the place where the Solidarity movement was born in 1980. Gdansk is where the first Polish group of SAR Dogs was formed in 1998. The group was founded by enthusiasts trained by German handlers, with the support of the regional Polish Red Cross Headquarters.
Since then, the group's dogs have taken part in many actions and international maneuvers, always presenting the highest level of professionalism. Except for the seaport, Gdansk is surrounded by heavily wooded hills and lakes. This fact has strongly influenced training methods. The dogs are trained to search for lost people in forests and in the open, with ruins as a secondary target. Searching for survivors after building disasters or earthquakes is the duty of state Fire Department SAR Dog group as well. There are two such groups in Poland; one in Gdansk and second in Nowy Sacz - both of which have become well-known all over the world after their successful actions in the countries of Algeria, Turkey and Iran.
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