![](/fileadmin/user_upload/Website_Test/StoryHero.png)
Becoming a search and rescue dog
A story told by Parson Russell Terrier Arvi
My dog's life started out complicated and not the way I had imagined it. I have quite a temperament and a willingness to work, and it quickly became clear that with these special qualities I did not fit into the family that had been chosen for me. In 2018, I was finally handed over to experienced terrier dog handlers from the volunteer search and rescue dog team of the Vienna Fire Brigade.
I benefit enormously from their knowledge and experience and show exemplary qualities: I am focused, lovable and reliable. With the training as a search and rescue dog, my life started to be really fun.
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/0/a/csm_IRO_Story_Bild_1_b8d0529f85.png)
When I arrived at the search and rescue dog team, my colleague Giant Schnauzer Bo said sceptically, "What's that little guy doing here?" Well, I showed him. Because already during the fitness training in the morning, I don't always make Bo look good. I can also easily keep up with the big ones in the Rubble and Area Search.
![](/fileadmin/_processed_/1/d/csm_IRO_Story_Arvi_Bo_7a225ffb2b.png)
In the meantime, we are good friends, even though Bo likes to brag about all he has achieved in 2020: Completion of the international mission readiness test of the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU) and performance winner in Rubble Search. He was also deployed as a search and rescue dog after the gas explosion in Vienna in 2019. In the two years of my training I made it to a Rubble V and Rubble A exam in 2020, which I am proud of.
With focus, diligence and the right leadership, a lot can be achieved.
Your Arvi
And this is how Arvi's journey continues: Ready to save lives
Photos: FW-RH