The financial, emotional, and physical toll of another conflict has left war-exhausted Israelis unable to care for their pets, and some shelters are finding themselves with an 80% increase in the daily number of people requesting to surrender their dogs.
Yael Arkin, the CEO of the Let Animals Live NGO, told The Jerusalem Post that the shelter typically only accepts animals adopted from its facilities or rescued from the streets. Recently, however, staff have seen a growing number of animals left tied outside their premises or abandoned in urban areas when owners decide they just don’t want them anymore.
On Friday night, just after closing, two domestic cats were found tied to the building in a box. A few weeks earlier, a dog was brought in after receiving treatment for injuries sustained in a car accident, having been left on the street by her owner.
With an average of 25 calls a day seeking to return or surrender animals to their shelter in Kfar Ruth, and 258 dogs and 186 cats already waiting for homes, the organization has begun working to raise awareness on how to maintain an element of routine for animals so they don’t develop behavior issues.
Dr. Sharon Maoz Navon, a veterinarian and director of the organization’s main shelter, advised, “In times like these, dogs need calm. Speak to them in a soothing tone and create a sense of calm when going into shelters or safe rooms. Keep treats in the protected space so they associate it with a positive experience. Pet them, play with them, and try to maintain a calm and positive energy.
“It is also important to keep up a routine of outdoor walks as much as possible, as well as regular feeding times. In particularly severe cases, it’s advisable to consult a veterinarian and possibly consider anti-anxiety medication during this period.”
“Always, we have a high percentage of returning animals, especially from October 7,” Arkin shared, describing the toll the years of war have taken. In addition to the usual excuses, of allergies or the introduction of children into the household, Let Animals Live has found that more people are struggling, while under missile fire, to provide the loving and nurturing homes they once did.
When Iran launches its life-threatening ballistic missiles at civilian populations in Israel, each person has only a minute and a half to find shelter once the sirens start blaring.
For residents of the North, attacks from Hezbollah often come without notice. This constant race to safety is one of the main reasons Israelis find themselves unable to cope with their pets, Arkin said. Parents with young children who already need to get another person to safety find it particularly difficult to manage.
“You have to take the animals to the bomb shelter, and sometimes people find it very difficult.... Sometimes the animals are in such a terrible state; they’re frightened, and they start to shiver or cry or bark or try to even to do other things, and they don’t want to deal with that at this time when everybody is so stressed,” she explained.
Waking multiple times throughout the night and facing sudden disruptions during the day has left people emotionally drained and, as she put it, “dealing with so many things” that “people don’t want to cope with the problems” pets bring, especially as the animals themselves struggle with unexplained booms, confinement to safe rooms, and the loss of their routines.
Those in areas more frequently targeted by terrorist groups or without shelters in their buildings often find themselves moving in with parents or temporary arrangements where their pets aren’t allowed to join them, she explained.
“People move to their parents, and the parents don’t allow them to bring the dog, and they don’t have a place where to put the dog, so they want to give him, because if you want to put him in a private [boarding facility], you have to pay a lot of money for that, and they don’t have the money for that. So they say, ‘I can’t take him with me,’” she recounted, speaking of the many times she has received that reason.
Let Animals Live has done its best to try to help families accommodate their pets during trying times, giving resources and temporary placements when absolutely needed and funding is available, and offering free training advice, but they have found many simply can’t cope.
Many insist on surrendering their pets to the shelter, despite warnings that their once beloved pet will likely spend years in a cage, and they’d be better off finding a new home for them at an adoption day or on Facebook.
The stigma, she explained, is what has created the abandonment crisis Israel is now experiencing. Facebook can become a breeding ground for hateful comments for those who admit to looking to rehouse pets. This stigma is leading to animals being neglected in homes that don’t want them, thrown onto the street, or dumped at the doors of already overburdened facilities, she said.
More surrenders, less adoptions
GALI SHALOM, from the New Life for Dogs association, said her organization had not yet seen a notable increase in the number of surrenders as they had in 2024 and 2025, though they have noticed fewer people were opening their homes.
“In the immediate aftermath of October 7, there was a remarkable wave of solidarity. Many people stepped up to help. We saw an increase in adoptions and foster homes, driven by a genuine desire to support animals during a difficult time,” Shalom told the Post. “Unfortunately, that initial response was short-lived. Not long after, we began to see a growing number of abandonments, alongside a steady decline in adoptions, a trend that continues to this day.”
Those who are giving up their pets for war-related reasons are often doing so because they anticipate once again needing to serve for long periods in military duty and know they will not be home to provide the love and care their dogs deserve.
“I also believe that the economic difficulties and constraints following the war have objectively made things harder for everyone,” Shalom said, noting that many Israelis are currently without work due to the Home Front Command restrictions. “Unfortunately, many chose to give up their dog as the first thing in order to stabilize financially.”
Shalom pointed to the case of Robert, who was surrendered to the municipality after he was diagnosed with cancer. Not willing to pay for the expenses, his owners gave him away, and while he has now completed chemotherapy and can celebrate being cancer-free, Shalom said no one had yet inquired about him.
Much like in the days that followed Hamas’s brutal invasion that devastated southern Israel, Shalom said they were seeing more people offering to foster, but finding temporary placements is only one part of the issue. Larger and older dogs have spent years waiting and will likely continue to do so as “most people looking to adopt are interested in younger or smaller dogs,” she said. “For these dogs, it often becomes a life sentence, spending their lives in kennels instead of in a home.”
Rachel Van Vaneveld, from the Gilboa Loves Animals Association, shared that she thinks much of the abandonment problem has come from the lack of policy and procedure in place. Founded in 2006 to help rescue abandoned and abused dogs, the organization has strict adoption requirements that help ensure that when dogs are sent to their forever homes, it is an adjustment they will only need to make once.
Remy, like many of the dogs rescued by the association, has suffered tremendous abuse at the hands of people, and a stable home capable of providing the love he deserves is essential – even if it means he has to wait a little longer for it. Found with a symbol burned onto his head, acid burns on his body, and in serious condition in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the association has invested heavily in healing him and said it would rather wait for the right person to come along than risk adding to his trauma.
“Many charities give away dogs without a comprehensive background check,” she noted, reflecting how other countries require prospective adopters to prove they have the financial means to take care of pets. “That’s why so many dogs are abandoned or end up in very difficult places. They are easily used for dog fights and illegal breeding.”
Vaneveld noted that many take on the responsibility of dog ownership “without any basic knowledge or understanding of how to take care of them,” so when difficulties arise, such as war, they are at a loss as to how to take care of them.
Without school to entertain children, who are often the ones to convince their parents to take on the responsibility of pet ownership, more dogs will likely be adopted, she predicted, though she added that the children will almost inevitably soon turn their attention to smartphones and the like. “These are dogs; they will find themselves on the street the moment everything returns to normal,” she worried, noting a similar pattern was seen after the coronavirus.
The war has also noticeably led to Israelis donating less to the organization, she said, alluding to the fact that many in the tourism and hospitality fields are now out of work. With more mouths to feed and less money, rescues may find themselves struggling to provide the services they once did.