The International Rescue Dog Organisation (IRO) was founded in 1993 and is the worldwide umbrella organisation for all national rescue dog organisations with the aim of saving human lives and maintaining their health by the assignment of the best trained rescue dogs.

The IRO is a registered, non-profit organisation with an international executive board. The head office of the IRO is located in Salzburg (Austria). Members of the IRO are national rescue dog organisations. At present there are 90 member organisations in 36 countries of the world. 

The International Rescue Dog Organisation finances its activities through membership fees from its member organisations, as well as sponsorship money from supporting members. The money is the basis for the many tasks of the IRO, such as sending judges and trainers to international events, sending rescue dog handlers into mission in case of an international disaster as well as administrative work. On the other hand, the national organisations are supported in funding for equipment as well as in training of mission-ready dogs.

International Cooperation – UNO, OCHA, INSARAG, Kynologenverband/FCI

By means of a tight cooperation with the disaster management organisations of the UNO, the OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), as well as the INSARAG (International Search & Rescue Advisory Group), IRO strives for even more successful rescue deployments through the exchange of experiences and improvements in training methods.   

The IRO closed a cooperation contract with the FCI (Federation Cynologique International) - the international canine federation responsible for the breeding and training of all breeds of rescue dogs - in January 2006 for common testing standards in order to demonstrate the common goals throughout the world.