Notice: Test mode is enabled. While in test mode no live donations are processed.
Email
support@helpo.org
Training & Certification
Animal Technical Rescue USA (ATRUSA) exists to build trained, certified responders across the United States.
All technical rescue training is delivered in partnership with domestic and foreign specialized experienced organization, an organization with more than a decade of operational experience and over 5,000 completed rescues.
This is not theoretical training.
This is field-proven, operationally tested animal technical rescue education.
Training Levels
ATRUSA-supported certification pathway includes:
Animal rescue scenarios, foundational animal technical rescue skills and operational personal and team safety.
Complex rescue scenarios, advanced vertical rope systems, and high multi-responder coordination.
High-level operational planning, leadership in diverse and demanding animal rescue environments, and instructor-level competency.
Completion of the Basic level is required before progressing to Advanced training, and the Expert level is available only to participants who have successfully completed both the Basic and Advanced levels.
All certifications and licenses are valid for one year and must be renewed to maintain professional operational standards.
This ensures that responders remain well-prepared, disciplined, and accountable.
Duration: 5 Days
Format: Theory + Practical Field Training
Location: Belgrade, Serbia –Animal Rescue Serbia Training Center
Capacity: Minimum 6 – Maximum 20 participants
The Basic level program is a structured, intensive course designed to provide the foundational skills required for technical animal rescue in complex and high-risk environments. The training focuses on personal safety, the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), fundamental rescue techniques, and the basics of communication and team coordination in rescue operations.
Participants complete:
• Pre-training preparation phase (theoretical and pactical study before arrival)
• Classroom-based technical instruction
• Hands-on vertical rope systems and animal rescue techniques
• Animal rescue scenarios from heights, confined spaces, and water environments
• Equipment handling, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, and operational safety protocols
• Final practical and theoretical examination
Certification is awarded only upon successful completion of the examination process.
Attendance alone does not equal certification. Competence does.
Technical animal rescue requires:
• Structured vertical rope systems
• Risk assessment under pressure
• Equipment mastery
• Team coordination
• Basic understanding of animal behavior
• Ability to apply and combine different animal rescue techniques
In disaster environments, amateur improvisation increases risk and can lead to serious consequences.
Standardized training creates survival.
Graduates enter a certified responder database and become eligible for participation in local, national and international networks.
Prepared responders strengthen entire communities while protecting and saving animal lives.
Training is conducted using high-quality, professional-grade rescue and personal protective equipment (PPE).
All training equipment is provided during the program.
However, candidates are strongly encouraged to acquire their own personal equipment prior to attending the training and to complete the course using that equipment.
Why this is important:
• Familiarity increases safety.
• Muscle memory develops faster when using your own equipment.
• Operational readiness improves significantly when responders train exactly as they will operate.
Additionally, ATRUSA and Animal Rescue Serbia work with a defined equipment system and methodology.
We strongly recommend that participants order the same equipment models and configurations used in training.
Standardized equipment across responders ensures:
• Uniform techniques in the field
• Seamless team integration
• Reduced confusion during high-risk operations
• Faster deployment readiness
• Greater operational personal and team safety
When every responder communicates and works with the same system, coordination improves and risk decreases.
In animal technical rescue, standardization saves time and time saves lives.
Animal technical rescue training is led by Aleksandar Gavrić, founder of Animal Rescue Serbia and a lifelong technical rescue professional.
His experience in vertical rope systems and technical environments dates back to 1985, when he began in speleology.
Aleksandar has been recognized as one of only 19 global experts in vertical systems by Petzl, a world-leading manufacturer of professional rope access, rescue, and vertical safety equipment used by rescue teams, firefighters, and technical professionals worldwide.
Since the early 1990s, he has been an entrepreneur and innovator in technical height operations:
• Founder of Serbia’s first company specializing in work at height
• Founder of the first adventure park in Serbia
• Founder of Animal Rescue Serbia, a globally unique volunteer organization dedicated exclusively to technical animal rescue
• Instructor for dozens of professionals in rope and height operations
He has trained:
• Members of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit of the Serbian Ministry of Interior
• Firefighters
• Numerous professionals
His operational background combines entrepreneurship, field experience, and technical precision. Exceptional ability to improvise and combine different rescue techniques.
Under his leadership, training emphasizes:
• Safety
• Discipline
• Repeatable systems – because repetition is the foundation of mastery
• Real-world application in everyday situations as well as emergency scenarios
Participants are trained not only to perform rescues, but to think like animal technical rescue professionals.
This program is designed for:
• Individual animal rescue professionals
• Emergency responders
• NGOs involved in disaster response
• Individuals committed to become professional animal rescuers
• Organizations seeking to build in-house technical capacity
If you are serious about animal rescue in high-risk environments, this program provides the structure, discipline, and certification pathway required.
Certified participants:
• Enter the responder database
• Become eligible for local, national and international network coordination
• Maintain annual licensing
• Gain access to a 24/7 communication network for knowledge exchange and support from rescuers around the world
• Gain access to structured progression (Advanced & Expert levels)
Preparedness is not a one-time event.
It is a professional commitment.
Animal technical rescue requires more than good intentions.
It requires training, certification, discipline, and internationally informed expertise.
ATRUSA exists to ensure that American responders are equipped with the knowledge, structure, ultimate equipment equipment and operational mindset needed to protect animals and the communities that depend on them.
