IDF reservist: She looked me in the eye, and I said 'Shalom'

Billy the Spaniel, abducted on Oct. 7, found in Gaza, reunites with her family in Kibbutz Nir Oz

Dog ran into IDF reservist’s arms in Rafah, and he took care of her there for 4 days before returning her to owner Rachel Dancyg, whose brother and ex-husband were murdered in Hamas captivity

By ToI Staff 16 April 2025, 6:00 pm Edit
Billy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, is returned to Rachel Dancyg, her owner, at Kibbbutz Nir Oz, on April 16, 2025. (KAN via X)

Billy, a dog that terrorists kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, was returned to her family on Wednesday, after Israeli ground forces discovered her in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The three-and-a-half-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel belongs to the family of Rachel Dancyg, the divorcée of Alex Dancyg, who was abducted to Gaza on October 7 and then killed in captivity. His body was recovered by ground troops in August 2024. Rachel’s brother Itzik Elgarat was also abducted from the kibbutz and murdered in Gaza.

The family spent months looking for Billy, but feared the worst, as the only trace of their beloved pet was a bloodstain in their home.

“My brother Itzik didn’t come back. And Alex didn’t come back. And here, this little dog, survived,” said Rachel on Wednesday, stroking Billy on her lap. “I hadn’t managed to get her into the safe room and I imagined that they’d killed her, because they killed all the dogs at Nir Oz,” she said of the terrorists who invaded the kibbutz. “But my daughter always said, ‘Mom, she’s alive’.”

Aviad Shapira, a reservist who has served more than 300 days in Gaza since the start of the war, told Channel 12 news that Billy ran into his arms when his unit was operating in the ruins of Rafah. “She looked me in the eye, and I, at that moment, said ‘Shalom’ — that’s what came out,” Shapira said Wednesday, as he sat alongside Rachel. “She jumped onto me, I lifted her up, and I said to myself, she’s coming back to Israel with me.”

He proceeded to take care of the dog for four days and insisted that he be allowed to take her back with him to Israel.

After spending the Passover Seder with his family and with Billy, Shapira brought the dog to a veterinarian who tested her microchip implant and discovered that she belonged to the Dancyg family.

“We thank, from the bottom of our hearts, the Golani Brigades reservist who insisted on taking Billy with him and returning him to Israel. Thank you to all the heroic IDF combat soldiers, you showed us light amid the great darkness,” the family said in a statement.

Video on Wednesday showed the emotional reunion of the family with Billy, who was brought to them on a leash by Shapira, his rifle slung on his back.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Rachel Dancyg is heard saying, tearfully, in the footage, as she embraces Shapira and her granddaughters caress the dog.

Other footage showed Shapira sitting with Billy’s family, stroking the dog’s chin.

An official statement from Kibbutz Nir Oz said: “Dogs are a part of the family. Many of the kibbutz’s dogs, and their living owners, were kidnapped or murdered on October 7, alongside humans.

“The embrace that Billy received, from the entire nation of Israel, upon her return shows how much we’re all longing for, and in need of, miracles like this.

“The great miracle to come will be the return of the 59 hostages who are languishing in Gaza — 14 of whom are from Nir Oz,” the statement concluded.

Rachel Dancyg discusses the return of her dog, April 16, 2025 (Channel 12 screengrab)

Of the 251 people kidnapped on October 7, 58 are still held: 24 of them are believed to be alive and 35 have been confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces. Hamas is also holding the body of an Israeli soldier who was killed in 2014.

Israeli artist Zeev Engelmayer, whose recognizable style is shown on daily postcards — including many images of hostages and fallen soldiers that are posted in public places across Israel, or held on placards at rallies calling for a deal to secure the captives’ release — painted a portrait of Billy, dubbing her “the heroic dog from Nir Oz,” and writing “Billy returns home.”

Rachel Dancyg survived the October 7 onslaught while holding off terrorists at the door to her safe room.

Her son-in-law Yaron Maor, nearby, fought the invaders for hours while his family was holed up in their own safe room. Maor was finally rescued by the Israel Defense Forces, and was almost mistaken for a terrorist until he identified himself with a cry of “Shema Yisrael” — the Jewish declaration of faith. Maor then joined the soldiers to fight off the onslaught and rescue other members of the kibbutz.

Billy is the only kidnapped dog to be reunited with her family in Israel in the 18 months since October 7.

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