When Rachel Dancyg fled her home during the Hamas-led attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz in October 2023, her thoughts were consumed by survival. She and her family hid in a safe room for eight hours, clinging to the door as militants stormed the neighborhood. In the chaos, her beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Billie, was left behind.
Her brother and ex-husband were kidnapped and later killed. Billie, she believed, had likely met a similar fate.
But this week, against all odds, a soldier called her family with news they never expected to hear: Billie was alive—and in Gaza.
A Dog Among the Rubble
It had been nearly 18 months since the October 7 attacks, which left 1,200 people dead and over 250 taken hostage in Israel. In retaliation, a prolonged Israeli offensive has devastated Gaza, with local health authorities reporting over 51,000 Palestinian casualties.
As soldiers moved through the war-torn city of Rafah in southern Gaza—about 15 kilometers from the kibbutz where Billie had lived—they spotted a small, disheveled dog wandering alone.
Reserve soldier Aviad Shapira said the dog came right up to them. When he greeted her with the Hebrew word “shalom,” she jumped on him.
“She didn’t belong there,” he told Israeli media. “I could tell there was a story behind her.”
He took the dog to a local vet, who scanned her for a chip. The name that popped up was one that had long haunted the soldier’s unit: Billie.
“It’s a Miracle”
On Tuesday night, Rachel Dancyg’s daughter, Lee Maor, received the call. At first, she didn’t believe it.
“I asked for a photo. I was really confused,” she said.
But it was true. Billie, now 3½ years old, was coming home.
On Wednesday, the two were reunited. Rachel stroked Billie gently as she spoke to reporters, trying to wrap her mind around the impossible reunion.
“It doesn’t make sense,” she told The Associated Press. “People didn’t survive. How did she?”
Though Billie appears happy to be home, she’s visibly thinner and somewhat disoriented. Rachel said it may take time to understand how her long ordeal has affected her.
A Flicker of Light in the Darkness
Kibbutz Nir Oz was among the communities hit hardest by the 2023 attack. Nearly a quarter of its 400 residents were either killed or kidnapped. The animals didn’t fare much better—many families reported missing or murdered pets.
For residents still grieving lost loved ones, Billie’s return is a bittersweet glimmer of hope.
The kibbutz community marked the reunion on Facebook, calling it “a little light in a lot of sorrow.”
Rachel’s ex-husband, 76-year-old Alex Dancyg, and her brother, 68-year-old Itzhak Elgarat, were both declared dead and their remains recovered and returned by Israeli forces in recent months.
While Billie’s return brings some closure, Rachel says the trauma is far from over.
“I can’t get out of this trauma as long as [hostages] are still there,” she said.