Many sheltered housing tenants were unwilling to leave their pets behind, and these have become householders for everything • Meetings between owners have created new communities, staff help when needed, and the presence of animals brings in a fresh breeze • Overcoming loneliness - in collaboration with the Sheltered Housing Forum
"For the dog this place is heaven."
Ora and Sammy Ventura
The sheltered housing has managed - and still manages - to alleviate the loneliness of the Corona period thanks to the supportive community, the many activities, the embracing staff and the maintenance of the health of the tenants.
But there are those for whom there is someone else, a friend who will always be there, happily and sadly, with endless loyalty: the pet who was an integral part of the family and remained so even after moving into sheltered housing.
Many tenants who have been accustomed to living their whole lives with some pet have not given it up even when they have left their private homes, and the policy of many sheltered housing is to accommodate this request, knowing how significant it is for them.
"I am a Jerusalemite, and when I was looking for a suitable home to move into in sheltered housing, I knew I wanted to move in with my two dogs - mother Nikki and her son, Toy," says Sima Ben-Netanel from a house in Kfar Hadarim in Kfar Saba. I continued to the center. I was ready to leave the city as long as I could stay with them. Since I entered the house in my heart it has been quite some time - Nicky passed away and Toi, who was already born here in the sheltered house, is now ten years old.
"I take care of him all alone, I have no problem walking with him, playing with him, he gets everything he needs here and is an integral part of my agenda. I wake up in the morning and first go out with him for a walk, then come back to get his breakfast. "And the daily shot, and only then do I sit down to eat my breakfast. Like a family member for everything. Most people here receive the dog very nicely, find him a real friend and are very happy to see him every time we go out."
Sima says that the staff at the house helps with everything they need and is very friendly to all the tenants' animals.
"They do not limit the tenants here in terms of the size of the dogs they keep, they just want to make sure they are vaccinated and healthy and not aggressive of course."
Raising animals - and dogs in particular - contributes to the health of people in old age, both physically and mentally and socially (see separate box).
Sima also testifies that the fact that she has a close partner improves her quality of life.
"This dog is my life, my soul, and especially at a time like this, of the corona, I think how lucky I am to have him. People talk about isolation, about closure, and here the tenants told me they are jealous of me having Toy. First of all he is I'm very busy, secondly - his very presence makes me happy: I'm at home with him, talking to him, playing with him. He's a very intelligent dog and keeps me company and keeps me in a good mood. Without him I do not know what I would do. It's easy to meet, and he's here for me.
"I am very attached to him. After his mother passed away I went through a difficult crisis and I definitely admit that I have a dilemma, what to do the day after he dies. Do take a dog again, because we do not become young day by day and it is a one hundred percent commitment, there are no compromises. I will have another dog, I will have to make sure he gets everything he needs, and even so I have pangs of conscience when I leave Toy alone today. "
Members do a dog-sitter
Not every sheltered housing home can accommodate tenants with dogs, usually due to the building itself (raising dogs in an apartment building in the middle of the city, without a garden, can be a problem for the tenants and staff).
But in a place like the Poleg mansion, where there is a private courtyard for each apartment and green spaces, it was decided from the day the place opened - 15 years ago - that animals are housemates.
"Our uniqueness is the fact that most of the housing units are detached houses," explains Orly Stein, sales manager at Ahuzat Poleg, "In fact we are a kind of village, and because of the nature of the place and the rural atmosphere and spaces, we can accept tenants who own animals. Anyone who raises an animal, and that moving here should not involve parting from him.
"Our openness to animals is also reflected in community life. There are tenants here who came with an animal that died over the years and then brought a new dog. Most of the tenants here are relatively young, and there is no reason at 70 plus-minus not to open a chapter with a new family animal. It also indicates the nature of the place.
"In terms of keeping the animal healthy - all the residents take care of veterinarians of their choice outside the house. There are also other service providers who come here to take the animal for a haircut, bathing, etc. The residents here can also be calm that there will always be someone to see if everything is fine with the animal. If someone notices a problem that the tenant has and needs help with the animal, we will always make sure that everyone feels good and receives the proper and appropriate treatment. This was also the case during the Corona period, which was exceptional in all areas of the country - whether it is the cleaner who comes in to clean the apartment or the staff and security or medical service. Of course, and in doing so, we helped the tenants take care of the animals with everything they needed. "
Ora and Sami Ventura, who moved to the Poleg estate when the place opened, are among those who brought the dog with them from home, and are already raising a second generation.
"We came from Ramat Hasharon with a Yorkshire dog named Lori," says Sami. "We were here with him for 15 years, until he died three months ago. Then we bought a Maltese puppy - Pepi by name - that I train myself with the help of a tutor from professional trainers. He is five months old, and to us he is like another human being in the house. We have been married for more than 60 years and have always kept dogs in the house. Our condition was that we enter here with a dog, and the first general of the house agreed that he would not enter otherwise.
"For the dog, this place is heaven, it has a wide garden here and I go out and rave with it, and we have grass here that he runs and plays in. Everything is built here beautifully, with facilities for bags for the dogs. There are quite a few people here with dogs - about ten percent - And it's great to see everyone going out with them and walking, it's like a community in itself. The staff is also very accommodating and helpful. Sometimes in the winter, when it's very cold - and when adults are not always healthy to go outside - there are staff women who help those who have difficulty taking dogs for walks.
"There is also mutual paragon between the tenants themselves when it comes to caring for dogs. For example, this week they came here to exterminate near our apartment. I did not want my dog to walk around and God forbid eat the pesticide, so a friend of mine here said there was no problem leaving him for a whole day.
"I admit that after Lori passed away I considered taking another dog. I myself still work and am not limited, but I thought I might want to have a quiet time, without going out for a walk in the morning and without having to worry about anyone else at home. My wife said there was no chance we would be left without a dog. "At any moment, we can not imagine our life here without the dog by our side."
Dudi Mualem, sales manager of the Mediterranean Towers chain, was among those who helped the tenants during the first closure and says that he enjoyed every moment: "Since the farm was closed, our sales activities were shut down. We divided - staff and management - between the chain houses to support all A topic that needs to be addressed: I was stationed in Bat Yam and took part in the operation of the house, the distribution of groceries, emotional support and more.
"Among other things, we helped the tenants who keep dogs. We took the dogs out three times a day, took care of their food if it was missing and the tenants' reactions were very warm. The dogs also got used to us and everyone benefited from it. Personally it was giving that is beyond daily activities. "This is a very important thing for me, and if we helped both the owners and the dogs, then the feeling is very good."
Caress, tenderness, compassion
Flora Wilchport from Beit Balev Petah Tikva says that her dog has already become an integral part of the coffee meeting with the friends in the cafeteria.
"My dog is called 'Tzuk Eitan', or 'Tzuki' for short. I adopted him during the operation, I found him in Gan Meir in Tel Aviv, where there were many dogs that people abandoned and tied up so that someone would come and collect. I saw him, I immediately fell in love with him and took him to me to Let him have a home.
"Tzuki is seven years old, and he is loved by a lot of tenants here. I give them love and get love back. When I got here I included in the contract a clause where I am allowed to bring a dog with me, because I did not think for a moment to leave him. I like to go for walks around the house. "I meet with friends to drink coffee in the lobby, he is a family member for everything, a part of me. It's great that when you open your eyes in the morning there is someone else in the house."
Tenants who love animals but do not raise one of their own are also given an appropriate response, with some of the sheltered housing encounters encounters with other diverse animals.
Yifat Raveh, director of Beit Balav culture in Jerusalem, says: "Our working assumption is that 'togetherness', a sense of community, cultural activity - all of these are our resilience, mental and physical, in the days of the Corona and in general, and some of this is reflected in the activities we hold once every two weeks. With animals.
"During the closure, we took a short break, and today the meeting was held as part of the guidelines, with a strict distance of two meters and gloves for all participants. The animals come from the Museum of Nature in Jerusalem with instructor Orly Perlberg. She gives background on herbs and nature in Israel. "Of the animals, this blessing, in an encounter with such delicate and helpless animals, which evokes in the tenants an inner softness and brings out of them a lot of gentleness and compassion. Any of the tenants who are interested can come freely and take part in this activity."
