Czech rescue dog Brit aids search after deadly Venezuela earthquake

German shepherd Brit, a rescue dog from the Czech Republic's USAR team, was deployed abroad for the first time to Venezuela after the 7.5‑magnitude earthquake that struck the country on 24 June 2026. Handler kynologist David Hynek and a team of 69 Czech specialists, together with eight specially trained dogs, worked among the collapsed buildings of La Guaira from 27 June to 5 July. They recovered five bodies but found no survivors, operating in extreme heat and humidity that limited the dogs’ working time to ten‑to‑fifteen minutes at a stretch.

The mission involved 478 international specialists from twelve countries and earned the Czech team a state honour from Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, while Brit and the other dogs received the "Héroes Caninos de Venezuela" award. The deployment follows earlier Czech USAR assistance after the 2023 Turkey earthquake and the 2025 Texas floods.