2016 FCI World Dog Show:
congratulations Russia!

There had been rumours, hear-says, comments, all of them negative, on Social Networks or via emails about the organisation of the 2016 FCI World Dog Show in Moscow.

After 4 very busy days, we have to admit that the very hard work of RKF, combined with their will to listen to the recommendations of the FCI Consultancy Group, have resulted in an outstanding dog show, of which all of us will remember as a very professional competition. RKF has managed to combine professionalism, glamour, friendship and relaxing atmosphere among the exhibitors, judges, visitors and guests.

Read more

Rafael de Santiago
FCI President
Javier Luque Sánchez

Born on 10th July 1972
in Cordoba, Spain
Javier joined the Huelva Provincial Fire Brigade as a voluntary firefighter in May 1998, where he worked alongside members of the dog rescue unit (the first Arcón Method unit in Spain to achieve excellent results, locating people trapped in rubble following disasters, even in cases where other dog rescue units had ruled out the possibility that anyone might still be alive).

In August 2001 he joined the Cordoba Provincial Fire Brigade where he set up and ran the provincial service’s dog rescue unit.

In September 2002 he was a student on the first disaster dog rescue handler course using the Arcón Method and was recognised as the best student on the course.
Over the next few years he continued with his training in the methodology by going on various international courses and by 2005 he was accredited as an Arcón Method disaster dog rescue instructor. During this initial training period he took part in various international courses (El Salvador and Ecuador) and international drills - such as the one held in Miami - and worked as a handler in the Pakistan earthquake where, even at this early stage, he was heading up a number of search operations even though he was not the head of the rescue unit.

In December 2008 he joined the Écija Fire Brigade as a firefighting officer and set up the brigade’s dog unit, even though he had no institutional backing. As a result of this lack of support and after being involved in the Haitian and Chilean earthquake rescue operations in 2010, he decided to set up an NGDO called “Grupo de Especialistas en Rescate Canino en Catástrofes Método Arcón” (Arcón Method Disaster Dog Rescue Specialist Group) together with a group of professional firefighters from the province of Seville. This was a dog rescue unit all of whose operational members were Arcón Method accredited professional firefighters and Arcón Method trained and accredited dogs, with the aim of offering the best and most efficient way of dealing with the various search operations using Arcón Method trained dogs. In March 2012 he joined the Estepona fire brigade where he set up various courses and took part in the training and accreditation of dog search teams belonging to various services, including Cordoba Fire Brigade, Huelva Local Authority, Malaga Fire Brigade, Estepona Local Authority, the Spanish Army, etc. At this point the GERCCMA was made up of professionals from the provinces of Seville and Malaga. He currently works for the Malaga Provincial Fire Brigade and has signed major partnership and cooperation agreements with Unesco Melilla, Manilva, Malaga Local Authority and the University of the Armed Forces of Ecuador. He is involved in the official PEAL Y CIFHMA project in Guatemala for the Asociación Nacional de Bomberos Municipales Departamentales ASONBOMD (National Association of Municipal Departmental Firefighters), where Arcón Method dog search teams will be formed from different units from institutions and countries in which there is a high risk of a disaster taking place over the next five years.