After the outbreak of the "Iron Swords" war, many animals were left behind due to the rapid evacuation of the residents of the communities near the Gaza Strip and the south or because they fled in a panic.
The various medical officials responsible for the health of IDF soldiers also worked to remove animals that remained in the area in order to reunite them with their owners or to find them a new home. One of those responsible is Dr. Shira Topol, a veterinarian and military health officer in the Southern Command. "We are responsible in the IDF for the soldiers' health. This is preventive medicine that takes care of the health of their water and food, so that there will be no contamination in them. We examine food donations, are responsible for disease outbreaks and also work to prevent the transmission of diseases from animals to humans," she explained in a conversation with Israel Hayom.
As part of this activity, Dr. Topol was called to a reserve base in the Yemen field, where four puppies entered an IDF APC at night from which they refused to leave. This is where Dr. Topol came into action together with a dog catcher ordered by the IDF, and thus the puppies were rescued.
Dr. Shira Topol (left) with rescued dogs, photo: IDF Spokesperson
"The reservists reported to us that they heard voices and howls from the APC they had in the field," she described. "We arrived twice during the day and couldn't find them, but the reservists said that the puppies go out at night – and then their mother arrives. So we arrived at night with the dog catcher – and managed to catch two of the four puppies, their mother and even two other dogs who were with her."
The other two puppies dug under the container and refused to leave. "We couldn't bring a crane to lift the container, so we told ourselves that if Hamas can dig tunnels in the ground, then so can we," she said. "We dug half a meter with our nails and managed to get them out. Later, we reunited them all with their mother."
This rescue of the cubs is among the last rescues carried out by military personnel in the area surrounding the settlements, since most of the animals have already been found and rescued. "Since the war began, we have rescued dozens of dogs, some of which we have even reunited with their owners by reading their chips, thanks to the fighters or reservists who reported them," she said.
"We saved dozens." Dr. Topol (kneeling on the right) with the rescued dogs, photo: IDF Spokesperson
Dr. Topol noted that the reunion process with dog owners begins when, once a chip is found on it, they contact it – and if it doesn't have an owner, that dog is quarantined to make sure it doesn't get sick. "After that, we look for an effort for him, and here the soldiers often help when they work to find an effort for him even when they are in the field," she said.
She also said that she routinely does not deal with dogs and cats, but mainly with wild animals that come into contact with soldiers, such as bats, jackals, porcupines and wild boars. "Some of them came to us wounded and received medical treatment, and others just approach the soldiers, so we have to treat them and remove them."
Just like humans, Dr. Topol noted that animals in combat zones also experience very severe trauma. "They don't understand what's going on, you can't explain to them that there's an emergency, so they get very stressed, get hysterical and suffer a lot," she said. "They're really poor and lost in the chaos that's going on around them, so it's very important to get them out of the field. We have very great cooperation with the various forces, who contact us and we come to rescue the animals they report to us."
Dr. Shira Topol (left) next to one of the rescued dogs, photo: IDF Spokesperson
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