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ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

MONTH: October 2006

Lebanon war animal victims still need help

 

BEIRUT, HAIFA--More than a month after Hezbollah militia members quit rocketing northern Israel and Israel quit bombing southern Lebanon to try to stop them, animal rescuers continued efforts begun under fire to help the many nonhuman victims.

 

Best Friends Animal Society rapid response manager Richard Crook, a Chilean veterinarian, and a vet tech flew to Lebanon on September 7, 2006 with 175 pounds of kitten food, along with veterinary supplies, en route to help arrange the evacuation of about 300 dogs and cats to the U.S.

 

Calling the evacuation "Paws for Peace," Best Friends reportedly raised $182,000 of the estimated $300,000 cost of that project and other rescue work in Lebanon and Israel before Crook's departure.

 

"Maggie from Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (cofounder Marguerite Shaarawai), called us with an emergency," e-mailed Best Friends president Michael Mountain. "No kitten food. And nothing available from other countries in the region. We tried Turkey, Cyprus, Greece. Nothing! And while there are tons, literally, just across the border in Israel, it's impossible to bring it in from there. We're aiming to set up a supply from western Europe, but that will take time. And the kittens can't wait."

 

The continuing disruption on the Israeli side was less, but only in mid-September did many of the front-line rescuers find time to tell their stories.

 

"Our former shelter manager, Sharon Lewinger, and his two friends Moti Sherman and Liat Gettagno, heard about the plight of abandoned animals in the northern communities, where many families fled the continuous rocket attacks," Rehovot SPCA international relations coordinator V. Santar told ANIMAL PEOPLE.

 

"The three of them collected funds to buy plenty of food for the animals, and traveled north to distribute the food. They took the city map of Kiryat Shmone, the town most continuously bombed and shelled, divided every street among themselves, and left food for the stray dogs, and visited every shelter for the same purpose. When they learned that the children in the air raid shelter also lacked food, they traveled south to the safer places and bought basic food to give to the hungry ones. They also visited invalids and old people. One was a blind old man with three dogs and a parrot. They left him a week's supply to last until their next visit. They visited Kiryat Shmone twice, always under heavy shelling, bombs falling around them.

 

"The Rehovat SPCA rescue van, donated by the Royal SPCA International, was on heavy duty," Santar added, bringing two lots of seven dogs each on 10-hour round trips to the north and back after the fighting ended.

 

"Unfortunately," Santar said, "most of the dogs arrived without a tag or microchip, so we do not know who their people are." Santar noted that one dog was reunited with his person on August 28.

 

"It was an honor to serve the people of the north by helping to find temporary solutions for their dogs, cats, and other pets," recounted Let The Animals Live cofounder Eli Altman. "Some 600 people asked us to find temporary domiciles for pets who sadly could not join them in central and southern Israel. Some 1,500 good people called us or emailed, offering their services," fostering the displaced animals.

 

"Many people volunteered to help drive dogs and cats from the north southward," Altman continued. "In some cases people drove to the bombarded north just to save a small rabbit or a blind cat."

 

Among the rescues that Altman recalled most vividly was one that "occurred in the first week of the war. A man in the army reserve told us about parents and three children, who tied their dog to a post, got up on a train and went south. The dog managed to free himself from the rope and ran after the train as fast as he could. The man ran after the dog for a few kilometers, until he managed to catch it. The dog is now in good hands. I am worried about the children of the family. I think about how they might have cried on the train, about the trauma their parents forced on them, about the ugly example these parents gave to their children, and about how these children will never know what happened to their beloved dog."

 

Altman reported one frustrating incident when, "Seeking ways to ease the difficult situation in the city of Tiberias, Let The Animals Live staff member Anat Refua contacted city veterinarian Amnon Or and proposed to help finding homes for 24 abandoned dogs at the pound, who were likely to be put down."

 

Or refused the offer, causing Let The Animals Live to seek his removal from office.