A dog who was kidnapped from Israel on Oct. 7 miraculously survived 18 months and was just rescued by Israel Defense Forces.
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Billie apparently heard IDF soldiers speaking Hebrew near her hiding place in Gaza and rushed out to greet them. Tragically, the husband of Billie’s owner died in Hamas captivity, but Billie somehow survived. Billie’s rescue is a moment of light in the midst of the darkness Hamas brought on Israel with its Oct. 7 atrocities and ongoing war.
Israel War Room reported that Billie has been reunited with the Israeli family from whom she was kidnapped by Hamas. Watch below:
Billie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was kidnapped from Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and discovered by Israeli troops in Gaza has been reunited with her family.
— AIJAC (@AIJAC_Update) April 16, 2025
Watch the emotional reunion as Billie returns to her family after over 18 months.
Video:… pic.twitter.com/O2wuUeaHjg
Owner Rachel Dancyg's son-in-law said, “We’re in total shock. We never imagined she survived. We had already gotten the kids another dog of the same breed. Now the two will live together. It’s a miracle from heaven.”
The dog was later identified via microchip as being Billie, belonging to Rachel Dancyg, the ex-wife of Alex Dancyg, who was taken captive by Hamas and later killed in captivity. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed his death on July 22, 2024.
Aviad Shapira, a reserve soldier in Golani’s 13th Battalion, explained how he discovered Billie: “We had just conquered the Morag corridor in order to encircle Rafah. I went to the Namer [armored personnel carrier] and saw lovely Billie walking toward me. She just ran up to me and jumped on me. I told myself that she would come with me to Israel. I really fought for her to come with me.”
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He did succeed in bringing her back to Israel when he came to celebrate the Passover Seder with family, and a visit to a veterinarian revealed the chip that helped them identify the dog’s original owners.
Billie, a 3.5-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, belonged to the Danzig family from Kibbutz Nir Oz was kidnapped to Gaza on October 7th.
— Inbar Cohen (@InbarCohen13) April 16, 2025
In a miraculous turn of events, a Golani unit operating in Rafah in recent days spotted Billie wandering alone. When the soldiers… pic.twitter.com/Kw02afaIXv
Billie’s survival is especially surprising because Palestinians sometimes eat animals we consider domestic pets (like cats — cats are plentiful in Israeli cities, but not so much in Palestinian Authority-controlled cities), and dogs are usually considered unclean in Islam. What a wonderful reunion for the family who thought they’d never see Billie again! Now we must pray that the Israeli hostages still in Gaza will soon return home.
A spokesperson for Billie’s kibbutz said, “We would like to thank Aviad from the bottom of our hearts, and all the heroic IDF soldiers. You have brought a little light to us in the midst of all the darkness.”
The spokesperson added, per JNS, “Dogs are a family, and many of the dogs and other animals in our kibbutz were also kidnapped and murdered on Oct. 7. The great joy of the people of Israel in Billie’s return proves more than anything else how much we all need and wait for such miracles. We still have 59 abductees in Gaza, 14 of them from Nir Oz, and we hope that the next miracle will come with the return of all of them.” Amen.
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