Help me save these animals, pleads shelter founder

Michal Golan says she spent NIS 150,000 of her own money to build the refuge near Ramle for 80 stray cats and dogs now facing eviction.

By RUTH EGLASH
Animal shelter lady (photo credit: Ben Spier)
Animal shelter lady
(photo credit: Ben Spier)
An animal shelter that is home to more than 80 stray cats and dogs is set to be evicted from its premises within the next two months after the Ramle District Court ruled that the plot where it currently sits must be returned to its landowner, The Jerusalem Post learned Thursday.
Michal Golan, owner of the animal shelter on Moshav Mishmar Ayalon near Ramle, received a court eviction order on November 4. She now has less than 60 days to move the animals, as well as their kennels and enclosures, and must find a new and affordable location.
“I told the judge that it was not just me he was evicting but also the 40 dogs and 40 cats that live here with me,” Golan told the Post. “I invested NIS 150,000 of my own savings to build this place, and I need at least that amount to move the shelter and rebuild it somewhere else.”
Golan said she had tried finding donations for her charity, Haklavim shel Michal (www.michal-dogs.com), but because she has no public relations team to assist her, the funds coming in are meager.
“I’m working alone here, and everything I do comes from the heart,” said the 53- year-old woman, a trained beautician who gave up her business in Ramat Gan and invested her life savings to start the shelter 15 years ago.
According to Golan, the shelter has been located on its current premises since 2004, and although it was originally supposed to be a 10-year lease, the landowner reneged three years ago and has been trying to evict her and the dogs ever since.
“What I need right now is just some really good people who will help me out,” said Golan, adding that nearly all the dogs and cats were found abandoned or neglected, and most are elderly animals.
She said it was unlikely they would be adopted because “most of them are over 14 years old and no one wants them.”
“I will not let them be taken to a place where they put animals down,” said Golan. “But unless we find a new home, 90 percent of the animals will die.
“The ideal situation would be if the state would just give us 2 dunams [0.2 hectares] of land, anywhere in the country, and then I can take care of the rest myself,” she added. “I have dedicated my life to save these dogs, and if they die it will all be in vain.”