The Cry of Those Who Cannot Speak for Themselves

By Tali Lavie

September 18, 2006

Jessie was found in the war

	A touching reunion - Eli Atias, Hakol Chai

The family of Jessie, a mischievous Weimaraner, coped with the difficult and sad dilemma posed by the war in a different way. When the family decided to evacuate on short notice from the bombed town of Shlomi, they gave Jessie to a relative. When the latter also took off, she left Jessie with a neighbor, and when he finally left too, Jessie was abandoned on the streets. Time and again, Jessie tried to enter bomb shelters in town, but she was physically kicked out by residents. She became dehydrated and frightened. Like Luka, Simba, and many others, Jessie would have died in agony in the war had she not been saved by the devoted volunteers.

While most of the residents of the north found some arrangement for their pets, those who lacked the means to do so remained in bomb shelters, with their animals, throughout the war. This was the case of Alfa's family, a couple from Kiryat Shmona who asked to be evacuated after four weeks in a bomb shelter, provided a solution could be found for their beloved dog.

While the State arranged for them to take "time out" at the Dead Sea, no solution was offered for their dog. The kennels in the area filled up shortly after the fighting broke out. The hotel at the Dead Sea refused to house Alfa with her family. The couple, new immigrants in Israel, have no relatives in the country. Thus, they found themselves staying in a stifling bomb shelter for four unbearable weeks. Only finding a foster family for their dog with the aid of Hakol Chai finally allowed them to leave the shelter and take a breather.

Without adequate options, quite a few residents from the north chose to act differently from Alfa's family, and they left their companion animals behind. Thousands of cats and dogs found themselves abandoned on the street, frightened, dehydrated, starving, and injured.

The question is what can be done to avoid a recurrence of such situations in the future. The Ministry of Agriculture, responsible for animal protection, operated a call center during the war for animal-related problems. Nice, but this didn't really succeed in preventing the animal abandonment phenomenon, and it certainly did not solve the problems of those people who refused to evacuate without a solution for their companion animals. After the war, and after numerous discussions, the Ministry of Agriculture allocated funds to place several hundred dogs in a boarding facility for a month. Too little, too late.

Rescuing animals – Hakol Chai	Rescuing animals – Hakol Chai
Dogs for adoption – Avi Hirschfield	Dogs for adoption – Eli Atias

When will there be contingency plans for animals during emergencies?

If it seems the lack of readiness was manifest only in that the State did too little to actively save abandoned animals, this is not so. The authorities were unprepared to such an extent that municipal pounds in the north ran out of food for animals housed there. Municipal veterinarians from the Kiryat Shmona, Tiberias, and Ma'ale Yosef Regional Councils turned to Hakol Chai to request donations of food. Hakol Chai donated many tons of food. Had it not been for the charity's donation, dogs held by local authorities in their facilities during the war were fated to die of hunger.

The lack of a serious, well-organized plan for evacuating families with companion animals meant animals were totally neglected, with only the charities keeping them from certain death.

While we beat our breast, we must simultaneously look ahead. Although action to help animals abandoned in the war is still ongoing, since dozens of puppies and adult dogs are still waiting for responsible and loving families to come and adopt them, we must promptly begin to prepare for the next emergency situation, be it a war, an extreme climate event of the kind the world has experienced often in the last years, an earthquake, or other calamity.

The idea of making preparations in advance to evacuate animals is not a novel one. Legislation in this area has been passed in the U.S. Congress and Senate and in many U.S. states.

Four months ago, the U.S. Congress approved a law that allows companion animal owners to evacuate together with their animals during a time of disaster. The bill, passed by a vast majority in the House of Representatives (349 to 24), requires local and state emergency-preparedness authorities to include in their evacuation plans how they will accommodate companion animals and service animals in the event of a disaster. Local and state authorities must submit these plans in order to qualify for grants.

Won't leave without their pets

The Senate version of the bill takes it a step forward, granting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the authority to assist in developing these plans, authorizing financial help to states to establish emergency shelters for individuals together with their animals, providing essential assistance for individuals with companion animals and service animals, and assistance for the animals themselves.

Several states in the U.S. (Louisiana, New Mexico, Hawaii, Vermont, New Hampshire, and others) have already passed laws that call for the development of plans for evacuating companion animals during emergencies.

These important laws were legislated out of concern for the wellbeing of animals, but they were also enacted after legislators acknowledged that animals are an integral part of their families, that they cannot be left behind during emergencies, and that attempts to separate family members will endanger family members who refuse to evacuate until all family members are provided for.

American society understands, as acknowledged by House member Christopher Shays, that the lives of families that include companion animals were put at risk because of the lack of a companion animal rescue plan. Shays said that "When asked to choose between abandoning their pets or their personal safety, many pet owners chose to risk their lives." The figures support his claim: 49% of Americans said they would refuse to be evacuated if they could not take their companion animals with them. According to the figures of a Louisiana organization, 44% of people who did not leave the city when hurricane Katrina hit said they stayed because they did not want to abandon their companion animals.

Action must be taken

Israeli society adopts many ideas and habits from American society. Today, one difficult crisis is behind us, but unfortunately, we still face many other emergency situations. As we recover from the damage of the war, and before this ordeal will seem like a distant, bad dream, before we forget how quickly things can get out of hand, when we can still see the pictures of the abominable state of animals during the war, we must stand up and demand that action be taken.

We must insist that lessons be learned for the sake of our silent life partners. We must protect those who cannot speak out for themselves and protest against the failures of the war, we must sound the cry of those left to suffer and die when the country entered a state of emergency, and in one united voice, call for preparing a clear, appropriate, and detailed plan, including the means to evacuate companion animals, as well as solutions for housing them for the duration of the emergency situation.

Meanwhile, dog lovers interested in coming to see dozens of puppies saved by Hakol Chai during the hostilities in the north, and in offering these sweet puppies a chance for a good life with a responsible and loving family, are invited to contact Hakol Chai at 03-624-3242.

Article reprinted courtesy of NRG.