The Ponteareas Canine Unit made history this past weekend by being proclaimed the most outstanding rescue team in Europe. Within the framework of the “XI European Police and Firefighter Games 2026”, whose canine trials were hosted by the Ponteareas municipality itself, the local unit reached the pinnacle by achieving two gold medals and one silver in disciplines of the highest technical and operational demand.
This brilliant performance gains even more relevance considering it is only the Canine Unit's second participation in the European Games. With such a young history in this continental event, the Ponteareas team has immediately positioned itself at the forefront of international rescue.
The championship's demanding nature was evident in the development of the trials. As explained by the head of the local unit, Jesús Rodríguez, the trials featured “great technical complexity,” best evidenced by the fact that out of the 15 possible medals, only 5 were awarded in total. The great news for the municipality is that, of these five unique prizes, three went to Ponteareas, placing the emergency team from Ponteareas as the absolute leader of the medal table.
The local duos demonstrated their operational superiority against specialists from across the continent. In the “Rubble Search” modality, held in the Ribadetea grounds, handler Sonia and her dog Boby took the gold medal in the women's category.
Meanwhile, the “Large Area Search” discipline, developed near the Convento de Canedo, was completely dominated by Ponteareas in both the women's and men's categories. Handler Josefa with Dana secured the women's gold, while Jesús Rodríguez with the dog Ares achieved the men's silver.
This result consolidates the international trajectory of Jesús Rodríguez and the dog Ares, who in their first experience at the European Games, held in 2024 in the Portuguese town of Braga, had already shown their enormous potential by also achieving second place and, therefore, the runner-up position in the “Large Area Search” trial.
The deputy mayor and councilor for Emergencies, Juan Carlos González, highlighted “the strategic commitment of the council to the establishment of this unit”. He added that “these three medals in trials of such high technical demand demonstrate that constant effort and training bear fruit, consolidating Ponteareas as the undisputed leader in this discipline”.
The mayor of Ponteareas, Nava Castro, expressed her utmost satisfaction and pride in the achieved milestone, emphasizing that “it is an immense pride to see how the name of Ponteareas shines at the highest level in Europe thanks to the work, dedication, and excellence of our Canine Unit”. “This success confirms that our municipality has top-tier professionals and positions us as an absolute benchmark in the international field of rescue”.
