12,000 euro annual agreement for the Santander rescue dog

The Official Gazette of Cantabria publishes in issue 174, dated September 9, 2026, the resolution of September 3, 2026, providing for the publication of the agreement between the Government of Cantabria and the City Council of Santander for the provision of the rescue and salvage service for persons with the Rescue Dog Group. The agreement, with official reference CVE-2026-7038, appears in section 7.5 (Miscellaneous) and was signed by the mayor Gema Igual Ortiz and the counselor of Presidency, Justice, Security, and Administrative Simplification, María Isabel Urrutia de los Mozos.

A collaboration agreement in civil protection

The agreement, excluded from Cantabria Law 10/2006, of July 17, on Subsidies, is framed within the municipal competencies of civil protection and fire prevention that Law 7/1985, of April 7, on the Bases of Local Regime attributes to city councils with more than 20,000 inhabitants. The Autonomous Community assumes the competencies that the law reserves for Provincial Councils, including ensuring the comprehensive provision of municipal services throughout the territory.

The Rescue Dog Group of Santander has personnel and material resources, as well as trained animals, for the tracking, salvage, and rescue of trapped or missing persons. These resources may be made available to the regional Administration for the search for missing persons, without this implying the assumption by the City Council of competencies or legal responsibilities of the Autonomous Community.

Economic contribution and payment method

The Government of Cantabria commits to economically reimburse the cost of operation and operational maintenance of the group through an annual transfer of 12,000 euros. For 2026, the funding is planned under budget item 02.04.134M.463 of Cantabria Law 4/2026, of April 28, on the General Budgets of the Autonomous Community.

The payment is structured in two installments:

• 10% as an advance, once the agreement is signed.
• The remaining 90%, according to the justification of expenses presented through a classified list of invoices by concept.

The final technical and economic justification will be carried out before the General Directorate of Security and Citizen Protection during the first quarter of each subsequent calendar year of validity.

Activation through 112 and monitoring

Collaboration will always be requested by the Government of Cantabria via the single emergency telephone number 112, in accordance with the protocol in Annex I. The ordinary procedure includes confirmation of departure, notification of arrival at the scene of the incident, information regarding typology and resources, the return of the resource, and the submission of the service report within the following 24 business hours. Activation via direct calls from municipalities in Cantabria, other than its own, or from other autonomous communities is also foreseen.

Furthermore, a joint Monitoring and Interpretation Commission is created, with two representatives from each party, which will meet at least once a year and will hold the presidency and secretariat alternately.

Validity and Extension

The agreement will enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Gazette of Cantabria and will remain in effect until December 31, 2027. Prior to its expiration, the signatories may unanimously agree to its extension for a period of up to four additional years or its termination. Resolution may occur due to the expiration of the term, mutual agreement, material impossibility, breach of contract, judicial decision, or any other cause provided by law.

The formalization of this agreement reinforces Cantabria’s response capacity for emergencies and searches for missing persons, integrating municipal canine resources into the regional civil protection system through 112, with stable funding that guarantees the operational maintenance of the group for the coming years.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 174, September 9, 2026, section 7.5 (Miscellaneous), pp. 44766-44772 (official reference: CVE-2026-7038).