Piresky and Pinuky Come Home

The red-haired cat that was rescued from an abandoned camp returned home due to exposure on our Facebook page and a stolen dog was returned to its owners

The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel takes in every day abandoned dogs and cats that are sent to us by their owners or that are found abandoned, wounded or ill. More than a few dogs come to us without a chip, making identification of the owners almost impossible. The distress caused to both the lost dog and to its owners is unfathomable. When we manage to find the owners of abandoned animals, the joy is immense.

Last week, we experienced two moving cases – one involving a lost cat that was returned to its owners thanks to exposure of its story on our Facebook page, and the second involves a dog that was stolen from its owners and returned to them one and a half years later.

One week ago, we received a report about a cat trapped in an abandoned store in Holon. An SPCA Israel representative immediately arrived at the site and rescued the beautiful red-haired cat. The cat appeared to be well-groomed and frightened. It had a green collar around its neck and our experience immediately told us that this was not a street cat but a house cat that might have gotten lost.

For several years, the SPCA Israsel has been managing an active Facebook that doubles as an interactive news channel through which we maintain contact with thousands of surfers. In order to help the sweet cat find its owners, we published its photo on our Facebook page alongside of a description of the incident and where it was rescued. We asked Facebook members to share the photo with their contacts and hundreds of friends did so, expanding exposure to the picture by thousands on the social network.

Publication of Piresky's story on the Facebook page — Publication of Piresky’s story on the Facebook page

One day passed and another. The adorable cat was residing in our boarding facilities waiting for its owner. Despite having given it loving care, it was difficult to ignore its longing for home. The cat mewled, wept and missed its owners. Our experience told us that cats are well familiar with the area in which they lived, and know how to find their way home. The cat’s behavior made it clear to us that every day in our facility was adding to its distress. After much deliberation and consultations, we decided to wait several more days and if no one comes for the cat, we would release it back in the area it was found in the hope that it would manage to return home to its owners.

We again published the cat’s particulars on our Facebook page, which again was widely seen. To our tremendous delight, the Facebook effort succeeded! The next day, the cat’s owners arrived at the SPCA and we learned that the cat’s name was Piresky. The excited owners brought with them photos of the cat that proved that the cat was theirs. Piresky’s joy and excitement at the reunion left no room for doubt. The owners took the cat home and we were overjoyed at this happy ending.

Our Facebook page is used for other purposes, including searching for homes for hundreds of dogs and cats that are in our facilities and that need a family. If you are interested in participating in this important activity, join us by clicking Like. Share their photos and help us help them!

Two days after Piresky returned home, a man arrived at the SPCA and asked to give up a two-year-old mixed pinscher that he claimed he found on the street. Thanks to a chip in the dog’s body, we discovered that the dog’s name was Pinuky and we immediately contacted its owners that were registered in the chip center – Gil Porat from Rishon le Zion. Gil was surprised, and said that Pinky had been stolen form him about a year and a half ago. He rushed to collect Pinuky from the SPCA and the reunion touched everyone at the site, employees and volunteers alike.

Unfortunately, similar cases do not always end with this kind of reunion. Many lost dogs are found in pounds and organizations without their owners being aware of this. Some never had a chip implanted and for others, the owners’ particulars were never updated in the national chip center. If you are raising a dog, please make sure that the dog has a chip implanted and that the information on the chip is updated at the chip center.

Electronic Microchips

Everything you wanted to know about the microchip and its significance

The Society’s veterinarian, Dr. Ayah Peri, in a video dedicated to the electronic microchip, which must, by law, be inserted in all dogs who reach the age of three months. Dr. Peri shows what the microchip looks like, clarifies its significance, demonstrates how it is inserted in the dog and explains the importance of keeping the dog owner’s details updated in the National Microchip Center.

Luna’s Microchip

MK Sheli Yehimovitz’s Lost Dog Comes Home Again – Thanks to the Society

Early this week a call came in to the Society’s telephone service center, reporting a stray, mixed breed Labrador on Yarkon Street in Tel-Aviv. Our rescue van set off immediately, reached the kiosk whose owners had reported the lost dog, and brought the dog in to the Society. Once they discovered that she bore a microchip, they found out that the dog in question was Luna, who had been adopted from the Society eight years ago by MK Sheli Yehimovitz.

Yehimovitz, who had been searching for her dog for many hours, was thrilled to hear that Luna had been found alive and well and came immediately to pick her up. Yehimovitz wrote in Facebook: “Our Luna slipped away through the open door and was missing for 24 long hours. We searched for her anxiously, all over, till they called us from the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, to let us know that Luna had been found, miserable and lost. We had adopted her from the Society years ago and now they had rescued her again – thanks to the microchip. Our gratitude goes out to the Society – Great work! By the way, there are many adorable dogs and cats waiting for adoption at the Society”.

The story of Luna’s disappearance ended well. Unfortunately, not every lost dog has such good luck and the stories of many other lost pets do not have a happy end. The reason for this is that they do not have microchips with their owners’ updated details in the National Microchip Center. To prevent such anguish, please ensure that your dog has a microchip inserted (as required by law) and that all your contact details are up-to-date.

Solomon’s Wisdom

Two people claimed ownership of a dog that was found homeless in Tel Aviv

When an alert citizen saw a mixed-breed Pekinese dog wandering alone on the streets of Tel Aviv, he had no idea that the dog would be at the center of a controversy. The citizen, who understood that the dog was lost, brought it to the offices of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel. As is customary in such cases, the representatives of the Society checked the electronic chip and discovered that the dog, named Mooky, was 14 years old, and according to the National Chip Center belonged to a Tel Aviv resident named Erez Torati. The representatives contacted the owner of the dog, who had difficulty believing that it was his dog they were speaking about, since Mooky had been stolen from in front of his house about three years ago. The stunned Erez, who was at that time on a work location in the north of Israel, decided to drop everything he was doing and set out in the direction of the Society.

Several minutes after the conversation with Erez, a woman walked into the Society’s facilities looking for her lost dog. According to the description that she gave, the representatives of the society understood that she was speaking about the very same dog. According to her, she had bought the dog for 2,000 NIS two years ago, from a man in the HaTikvah neighborhood.

It is important to note that every dog must receive a vaccination against rabies once a year. The veterinarian who gives the vaccination needs to check that the owner’s details are up-to-date at the National Chip Center. So if the dog had been properly cared for, the veterinarian would have seen that the woman was not the registered legal owner of the dog.

The representatives of the Society tried to find out how it was that the dog was in her possession for two years and in all that time she never bothered to update the registration at the National Chip Center. They also asked the woman for the dog’s vaccination book or other proof for her contentions, but they received no answers on that account. Since the representatives of the Society understood immediately that there was a high probability that the dog had been with her, they explained to the woman with great empathy that they could not return the dog to her because, according to the National Chip Center, someone else was the owner of the dog.

An hour and a half later, Erez Torati arrived at the Society. The meeting between him and the dog was very moving. The dog began to wag its tail furiously when he saw his owner. “I didn’t believe that I would ever see him again,” Erez said excitedly. “Even when I called my mother on the way here, she thought I was dreaming and that there was no chance that this was really Mooky. This time I will guard him well and I won’t let him run around on his own. I can understand what is going on in the heart of this woman, but Mooky is mine and finally he is coming home thanks to the Society”.

Shmulik is Calling You

Alls Well That Ends Well: A year and a half after having been stolen, we brought our dog Shmulik back home thanks to the updated chip

Over a year and a half after, Shmulik the dog was stolen from the home of the Avigdor family, who live on Kibbutz Goshrim. Shmulik, a Cocker Spaniel, belonged to the son Eyal, a hearing-impaired teen. When Eyal was 12, he received the puppy from his uncle Samuel. The decision was made to call the dog Shmulik, in honor of the giver of this gift.

After Eyal reached bar-mitzvah age, on Independence Day a year and a half ago, Shmulik was stolen from the kibbutz, apparently by one of the many visitors. After exhaustive searches and Dog Lost ads that published Shmulik’s picture on the internet as well as through any available means to the family, they realized that the dog was probably lost for good. The family, which had experienced tremendous anguish over the theft of Shmulik, decided against adopting another dog.

A year and a half ago, the family received a telephone call from a person living in Gan Yavne who said that he had Shmulik. The overjoyed family quickly traveled to bring Shmulik home. Unfortunately, the dog turned out not to be Shmulik but another dog that was extremely similar in appearance. Eyal, who was hoping to return Shmulik home, was overwhelmed with grief and disappointment.

Two weeks ago, SPCA employees discovered Shmulik tied to the entrance gate. Society’s representatives examined the dog, identified the family’s information thanks to a chip that had been updated and contacted them in order to inform them that the dog was at the Association waiting for them. The stunned parents, Rina and Yoav, decided to not tell Eyal about this yet in order to prevent more disappointment if the dog turned out not to be Shmulik.

The two arrived at the SPCA to determine whether this was their lost dog and the moment they saw the dog, they were filled with joy. Shmulik himself did not remain indifferent and rushed towards the excited parents, who took him back with them to the kibbutz. Upon their arrival, the door opened and Shmulik ran directly into Eyal’s arms. According to Rina, Eyal was stunned and it took him several minutes to understand that his Shmulik had returned home. Ever since Shmulik’s return, Eyal hasn’t left his side, playing and even sleeping with him.

Happily, Shmulik’s story had a happy ending, due to the updated information about the family that appeared at the national chip center. It is important to note that owner information is not always updated for various bureaucratic reasons. It is therefore recommended that any dog owner make sure that their information does appear at the center. We further recommend that people who give their dogs to new owners update the national center of the change. Eery day, we receive abandoned or lost dogs, as well as people who have lost their dogs. Some of the dogs do not have chips, making it impossible to track down the owners while others have chips but with outdated contact information. We make tremendous efforts to reach the owners.

For tips to prevent disappearance of dogs, click here.