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Stories
from Hakol Chai staff about their experiences in Gaza
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Milo – this is
the small brown and white dog in the photos. He was originally seen
hiding from the sun under a jeep. He was very scared, and it took quite
a while to catch him. We took him on a "Good Morning America" type of
show, and he made a great hit in Israel. We’re getting lots of calls
from people wanting to adopt him. More than 30 people called to adopt
the animals we showed on that program when we asked for people to come
forward and adopt them. |
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We got a report
from a soldier about a female dog in Rafiah Yam. On the way there, our
clinic encountered a group of Palestinians from the area who shouted at
the clinic staff to go away. Nevertheless, the clinic continued to look
for the dog. Soldiers said they had seen her during the past hour, but
they didn't know exactly where she was now. When we were at the point of
desperation, a soldier who followed the clinic called Yafit to say he
found the dog, had closed her in a room, and was waiting next to her.
The clinic hurried there and found a very big dog (Great Dane mix),
exhausted, full of ticks. She was very friendly but scared. They picked
her up and brought her to safety. |
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A tiny three
week old gray tabby kitten – they gave IV fluids to the kitten, who
looked like she was dying, and were able to revive her. One of our
volunteers, an Italian man, adopted her. He had to go to Italy for a
short trip and one of our staff members is caring for the kitten while
he is away. |
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The 40 parakeets
were in a giant cage inside a house. We had to go into the cage and
catch them, one by one, as they bit us. Some of the rescuers ended up
quite pecked and bloody, but we got them all and transferred them to
smaller cages. |
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In the photos of
one of the chickens being caught, you can see graffiti the settlers
wrote on the walls. It says "No one will catch us alive, we won’t be
evacuated." It’s as if the chicken is saying it, though we did catch
him. |
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The turkey was
in someone’s yard and hard to catch. The goose was with the turkey, also
hard to catch. |
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Fifteen guinea
pigs were found in Netzarim. The owner contacted us when he found out we
had them and said he wanted them back and will come to get them. The
settlers gave various excuses for why they left their animals behind. |
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The scared
little iguana ran up a tree. We engaged the help of the soldiers to shake the
tree to get him down, which is why in the photos you see Tzachi Nevo,
the vet in green, surrounded by soldiers looking at him. The iguana's photo was
in the Jerusalem Post today. |
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Soldiers ran
after the clinic to tell
us there was a dog inside a house in an area about to be bulldozed. Our
people searched 15 houses before they found him, waiting by his water
bowl, absolutely terrified. He’s a lab. Our staff and volunteers said
the soldiers helped a lot. |
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Sad stories,
too. At Morag, there was a small black and brown pinscher that was
running very fast. They spent quite a while trying to catch him, without
success. Later, the owner came forward and said he wanted to go back to look
for him, but we didn’t think he would be allowed in. It was too late.
UPDATE from Hakol Chai board member: I
went on my knees to thank God — the little pinscher is united with his
owner. The woman who was helping us all the time to get permits, her
name is Orly, and she was the spokesperson for the Air Force and still
has many contacts here, arranged a permit for the owner to go in with
protection of the Army to see if he could catch the dog, and YES YES
YES.
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