Pet dog snatched by Hamas in Oct. 7 attacks miraculously found by Israeli troops in Gaza: ‘Miracle from heaven’
A dog that was snatched from an Israeli family when they were kidnapped by Hamas is miraculously returning home after the pup was rescued by an Israel Defense Forces soldier in Gaza.
Rachel Dancyg was emotionally reunited with her beloved three-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Billy, on Wednesday — more than 18 months since the pooch was abducted by the barbaric terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, while she hid in a saferoom.
Dancyg’s ex-husband, Alex Dancyg, and brother, Itzhak Elgarat, were both kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and later killed while in Hamas’ captivity.
Billy, however, survived her ordeal and jumped into the arms of Aviad Shapira, a reservist who has served more than 300 days in Gaza, while with his unit in Rafah last week.
He cared for the dog for four days and even received permission to take her back with him to Israel, where she spent the Passover Seder with Shapira’s family, according to Israeli outlet News 12.
A scan of the dog’s microchip at the vet then revealed that she belonged to Dancyg and Shapira called the Oct. 7 survivor and broke the miraculous news.
Dancyg’s son-in-law, Yaro Maor, told Ynet the family was “in complete shock” that the dog was still alive and was “overwhelmed with emotion.”
They were so convinced that Billy was dead that they had already got the kids another dog of the same breed.
“Now the two dogs will live together with us. It’s a miracle from heaven,” he told YNet.
Alex Dancyg, 76, was a Polish-Israeli activist who dedicated his life to teaching others about the Holocaust. The IDF confirmed in July that he had died several months prior while being held in Khan Younis is southern Gaza.
His body was recovered in August. Hamas had claimed earlier in 2024 that Dancyg had been killed as a result of an Israeli strike.
Elgarat, 69, was shot and wounded while trying to get into his safe room and taken captive to Gaza. He was known by family members to have been alive as recently as April, 2024, but later died, according to the Times of Israel.
Elgarat’s body was handed over to Israeli officials in February.
Rachel Dancyg praised her brother’s bravery at his funeral in March.
“You, Itzik, fought them with a fierce heart. They took you alive. I believed so much that you would return alive. You left too soon,” she said. “They tortured you, they starved you, you left in great agony that only bloodthirsty murderers can inflict.”
