Rocket attack victim stayed behind for his dog
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2006:
HAIFA–Among the Israeli dead from the August 2006 Hezbollah
rocket attacks on northern Israel was Dave Lalchuk, 52, originally
from Boston, who reportedly emigrated to Israel in the early 1980s.
Lalchuk and his Israeli wife Esti joined Kibbutz Sa’ar near Nahariya
in the western Galilee region, raised two daughters, now adults
living elsewhere, reported Jack Khoury of Haaretz.
“Despite rocket hits in the area, Lalchuk continued working
in the citrus groves and caring for the animals he loved, including
his beloved dog, Blackie,” Khoury wrote.
When a rocket blew Lalchuk off his bicycle at the door to his
home on August 2, “The ambulance crew and kibbutz members who rushed
to the scene found the dog lying by the body in a state of great
distress. Kibbutz members tried to remove the dog from the scene,
but Blackie insisted on remaining beside his friend. Even once the
body was removed, the dog refused to budge from the spot for a long
time,” Khoury recounted.
“Many Israelis who raise livestock refused to leave,” wrote
Orly Halpern of U.S. News & World Report.
“We have 150 calves,” Geula Feldinger of Sde Yaakov told
Halpern. “One of our neighbors has a dairy farm and another has a
chicken coop. No one is leaving. If we do, our animals will die.”
“In south Lebanon, farmers don’t have much choice,” Halpern
added. “The Israeli military has called for them to leave in order
not to be injured.”
Others who stayed behind to look after animals included
Kibbutz Gesher Haziv pound keepers Motti and Ziona Sudai.
“We couldn’t leave because of the dogs,” Sudai told
Ashkenazi of Haaretz. “We must stay with the dogs and calm them
down. In the last few days rockets have been raining on us and we
don’t have a shelter nearby,” Sudai continued. “We asked the
regional council for a mobile security room but they laughed at us.
“Some people kicked their dog out as soon as the first rocket
landed and went to Tel Aviv,” Sudai added. “But many others brought
their dogs here and are inquiring about their health.”
