The Search and Rescue Dog Team of the Fire Bureau, Taichung City Government has once again added a distinguished achievement to its record. Two pairs—Handler Hung Jui-hung with search-and-rescue dog Uno, and Handler Chang Hsien-teng with search-and-rescue dog Ring—successfully passed certification in the 2025 National MRT (Mission Readiness Test) Search and Rescue Dog Capability Certification, held recently by the National Fire Agency at the Zhushan Training Center.
Renowned as the highest-level search-and-rescue dog assessment in Taiwan and the test most closely simulating real disaster scenarios, this certification not only validates the professional capabilities of Taichung’s Search and Rescue Dog Team but also demonstrates that they will continue to serve as an indispensable force in the field of international humanitarian rescue.
The Fire Bureau noted that the MRT certification represents the highest standard in Taiwan’s search-and-rescue dog community. This year’s certification brought together 20 elite search-and-rescue teams—18 from Taiwan and 2 from Japan—creating unprecedented levels of competition and technical exchange. The high-intensity assessment fully simulated the challenging conditions of complex disaster environments. Over the course of a 36-hour continuous mission, handlers and their dogs were required to operate under extreme day-and-night conditions. The evaluation encompassed five key disaster-scenario modules: Wide Area Search, Collapsed Structure, Tactical Planning and Command, Canine First Aid, and Endurance and Obedience. Each component posed an ultimate test of the handler’s professional knowledge, physical resilience, and the mutual trust and coordination between handler and dog.
Despite the stringent challenges, Taichung’s Fire Bureau’s Search and Rescue Dog Team once again demonstrated the solid results of their rigorous training. Both handler–dog pairs completed the certification with steady and composed professional performance, affirming that Taichung’s search-and-rescue dog team possesses the readiness and capability to be deployed in international humanitarian rescue missions at any time.
The success of the Search and Rescue Dog Team is anything but accidental. Every successful rescue and every certification earned is built upon years of patient training, companionship, and trust established between handlers and their dogs. The Fire Bureau will continue to invest in professional training and resources for search-and-rescue dogs, ensuring that in any major disaster or international relief mission, Taichung’s Search and Rescue Dog Team can remain a pivotal force in “finding the hope of life.”