Billy, a dog kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 massacre and taken to Gaza, was reunited with her family on Wednesday, 558 days after she disappeared. A reservist soldier found her in Rafah and brought her back to Israel.
During the rocket sirens that preceded the Hamas infiltration, Billy was hiding in the safe room with Rachel Dancyg and her two granddaughters. When Dancyg stepped out to the kitchen with Billy, before realizing terrorists had entered the kibbutz, she quickly returned to the safe room. She managed to protect her family for hours, but Billy vanished.
Billy reunited with her family
That same day, Dancyg’s ex-husband, Alex Dancyg, and her brother, Itzik Elgarat, were kidnapped to Gaza. Both were murdered in captivity.
Tammy Bar-Joseph, who has been researching dogs killed or abducted in the October 7 attack, wrote on Facebook about her involvement in the search. “The family asked me to help find Billy. In August 2024, with their approval, I posted a public call for information. They hoped she had survived and been taken in by a foster family unaware of how to reach them. But we didn’t find her,” she wrote.
“We even searched for her grave, checked if anyone had seen her body and looked into whether a microchip could survive underground. We considered excavating to find her remains. For months, the family truly believed Billy was still alive. After my post went viral, many people across the country helped search. I received dozens of messages about Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dogs that turned out not to be her. We found nothing.”
In September 2024, Bar-Joseph coordinated with the family to update Billy’s microchip details with a current phone number and add a government database note: “Billy went missing during the October 7 attack. The family is desperately searching for her. Anyone who sees her, please contact them immediately.”
By December, the family asked Bar-Joseph to help them adopt a new dog — a Cavalier, like Billy. “Thanks to colleagues in the dog community and with the help of the amazing team from Friend at Hand foundation, we found a beautiful puppy and gifted her to the family,” she said.
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Then, on Tuesday, the unbelievable happened. “In the evening, I got a call from the family: ‘Tammy, it’s a miracle! Billy was found in Rafah,’” Bar Yosef recounted. “A wonderful reservist found her and insisted on bringing her back. He had her scanned for a chip and contacted us.”
That reservist was Aviad Shapira from the Golani Brigade. He spotted a purebred dog approaching him from the rubble. “She must’ve heard Hebrew,” he told the family. During his leave, he took her for a veterinary scan, discovered her chip, saw the alert about her being missing from Nir Oz and contacted the family. On Wednesday, he returned her home.
Bar-Joseph wrote in amazement: “How did a Cavalier kidnapped to Gaza — a dog with such a pure soul, kindness and innocence — survive a year and a half there? I once had a Cavalier; she wouldn’t have lasted ten minutes.”
Billy wasn’t the only dog taken from Nir Oz that day. Two others — Luna, a Husky, and Casey, a mixed breed — were also abducted to Gaza and remain missing. Two more, Chuti and Tika, were kidnapped but managed to escape and return home on their own.
“The family is overwhelmed with joy. We can hardly believe this miracle — Billy’s own Exodus, from Gaza, from Rafah, thanks to reservist Aviad Shapira, our angel,” said Bar-Joseph. “This holiday was incredibly hard for me and I hoped for a few moments of happiness, but I never imagined something like this.”
Meanwhile, artist Ze’ev (Shoshke) Engelmayer sent the family an illustration showing Billy being rescued from Gaza by a reservist. Maya, a relative of the late Alex Dancyg, wrote: “After a year and a half of uncertainty, soldiers found her during an operation.
“She ran to them — maybe she heard Hebrew. They found her chip and confirmed her identity. Billy, the lost dog, was found alive. A small comfort in the family’s immense pain.”