| When your country is in a constant state of war, and people are full of anxiety, it’s hard to predict the needs from moment to moment.
Despite this fact, at the Israel Guide Dog Center, we know how important it is to continue our unique mission now and in the future. And we are grateful for friends like you who continue to support us. Below is a briefing on how we are coping:
Ongoing Direct Mission Work We continue to do the work you have entrusted us with. To breed, raise, train, and partner dogs to become Guide or Service dogs supporting Israelis with disabilities. Our kennels are full, and we continue adjusting to our new reality. Many of our puppies have had to be rehomed, and we are doing our best to support our puppy-raisers with personalized guidance, connections to local veterinarians who can dispense immunizations, and provide access to food vouchers. This week, a group of dogs returned to the Center for evaluation. Even during this war, our work must continue. Otherwise, there will not be enough dogs trained for PTSD Service, Guide work, and for families with children with special needs. Noach Braun, our co-founder and co-CEO, spent the past week in Toronto, training a new guide dog for one of our clients living in Toronto, Achiya Klein. Achiya was unable to travel to Israel to train with his new dog, Joy. So the Center came to him. |
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| Puppy Love Encounters
If there is one thing the Israel Guide Dog Center knows, it is the special kind of magic dogs bring to those in need! Our incredible volunteer puppy raisers have fully embraced this knowledge and are taking every opportunity to connect our dogs with people in need by: Creating a “Puppies Volunteering” WhatsApp group to coordinate their community activities. Visiting hostels, hotels, and hospitals around Israel bringing joy to the children, wounded, and evacuees. Their wagging tails are raising morale and providing comfort. |
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| Supporting our Family
The Israel Guide Dog Center is important to the fabric of Israel, so we are finding critical ways to help our community: Our staff member, Noah Kaplan (and former Torontonian) is using one of the Center‘s training vans to save abandoned dogs and other animals from the areas affected by the war–so far hundreds! The dogs were left behind due to the evacuation, many trapped inside homes for days, some roaming the streets without food and water. Some of the dogs have been successfully reunited with their families; others will need rehoming. We were moved beyond words by the rescue of a German Shepherd who was found wandering the streets in Sderot. They scanned his chip, located his family, and reunited them. The Center has donated equipment and supplies for the dogs rescued by these animal rescue volunteers. Our Canvelo Tandem Bike group is collecting and distributing bicycles for children impacted by the war. So far, the group has donated dozens of bikes. |
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| Last Sunday, we hosted an evening event in Toronto, bringing together some of our dear friends to hear from our client, Achiya Klein, an IDF veteran injured in Gaza in 2013.
Noach, Marcia Sokolowski, Eli Rubenstein, Aviva Rajsky and I spoke about our new reality on the ground in Israel, all of the pivots and innovations described above, and shared our hope for a more peaceful future. |
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| We are grateful for the outpouring of good wishes and financial support. Every gift is meaningful for our efforts to continue helping 2-legged and 4-legged Israelis in need.
We will continue to send updates by email. More content, pictures, and videos can be seen on Facebook and Instagram. Please continue to share our important work with others! Thank you for your kind friendship, generous support, and continued thoughts and prayers. Shabbat Shalom, Atarah Derrick |