Lifeline on Four Legs: The Veterinarian Who Saved Hundreds of Animals on October 7 Wins Global Award

Dr. Galia Shalev, a veterinarian from Moshav Ein HaBsor, has won the 2026 Global Pet Welfare Award from WSAVA for saving hundreds of pets after the October 7 attack. She remained in the western Negev under fire, rescued animals from burned homes, and set up emergency clinics for evacuees in Eilat.

Dr. Galia Shalev, a veterinarian from Moshav Ein HaBsor and founder of the "Negev Vet" clinics, has won the 2026 Global Pet Welfare Award from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA). The award was given for her rescue of hundreds of pets following the October 7, 2023 attack. On the morning of the attack, Dr. Shalev and her husband Ziv were on their way to a bike ride near Kfar Aza and Nahal Oz. After their children were evacuated, the couple returned to Ein HaBsor under fire, loading food and medicine for animals. They scoured evacuated communities, treating animals trapped in burned homes, injured by gunfire and shrapnel, or wandering in panic. The initiative grew into a large-scale emergency operation: a stable in the moshav was converted into a temporary shelter, a volunteer network was established with a Zoom command center to recruit foster families, and later Dr. Shalev set up an improvised emergency clinic at the Royal Beach Hotel in Eilat, where she treated hundreds of dogs and cats of evacuees for free. The global organization noted that her work highlights the importance of professionals in emergencies as healers and community strengtheners. ICAVA chair Dr. Anat Lichter Feld congratulated the win, saying her work reflects the highest values of the veterinary profession: compassion, service, responsibility, and courage.