Dr. Galia Melman Shalev, founder of Negev Vet clinics, will receive the WSAVA 2026 Animal Welfare Award for rescuing and treating hundreds of pets after the October 7 attacks. She remained in Moshav Ein HaBesor to mount field rescues, converted a stable into an emergency shelter and helped coordinate a broad volunteer network. After evacuating to Eilat, she ran a three‑month improvised clinic treating evacuee pets free of charge and updating the national microchip database. Colleagues praised her leadership, courage and service; her clinics have since reopened in a new format.
Negev Vet Founder Dr. Galia Melman Shalev To Receive WSAVA 2026 Animal Welfare Award For October 7 Pet Rescue Efforts
Dr. Galia Melman Shalev will receive the World Small Animal Veterinary Association
Dr. Galia Melman Shalev, a veterinarian and founder of the Negev Vet clinics, has been named the recipient of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association's (WSAVA) 2026 Animal Welfare Award for her emergency rescue and treatment of hundreds of pets after the October 7 attacks.
Award And Recognition
WSAVA praised Shalev for her "unwavering dedication, exceptional performance under combat conditions, leadership and genuine risk to her own life." Her nomination followed a strong recommendation from the Israeli Companion Animal Veterinary Association (ICAVA). ICAVA chair Dr. Anat Lichter-Feld said Shalev's work reflects "the highest values of the veterinary profession: compassion, service, responsibility and courage," while Dr. Segev Dishon highlighted her "practical leadership" and personal sense of responsibility.
On The Ground: Ein HaBesor
On the morning of October 7, Shalev and her husband, Ziv, were traveling to a cycling session near Kfar Aza and Nahal Oz when the attacks began. After returning home to find their community in chaos, they reunited with their two children and went back to Moshav Ein HaBesor, near the Gaza border, to help.
They loaded their vehicle with supplies for an extended stay—including animal food and medications donated by Vet Market—and began searching evacuated communities for abandoned pets. The scenes they encountered were harrowing: animals trapped in burned homes, pets wounded by gunfire and shrapnel, and many roaming dehydrated, starving and traumatized.
Emergency Shelters And Volunteer Network
What began as an improvised response quickly scaled. When Dr. Shalev's private clinic filled, she and her husband converted a stable into a temporary emergency shelter. A broad volunteer network formed around the shelter, and Shalev's daughter and friends from Ben-Gurion University created a Zoom command center to recruit foster families. The national veterinarians' organization also set up a command center in Beit Shemesh to coordinate efforts.
Eilat Emergency Clinic
After evacuating to Eilat herself, Shalev established an improvised emergency clinic on the lower floor of the Royal Beach Hotel. With equipment, medication and vaccines supplied by WSAVA and partner organizations, she spent three months providing free care for hundreds of pets belonging to evacuees in hotels across the city. She documented each case, checked microchips and updated the national database—work she says helped her keep focus during a traumatic period.
"The rescue and treatment of the animals from the evacuated communities was simply something that had to be done," Dr. Shalev recalled. "Sometimes we even put ourselves at risk to bring these animals back, because we knew that an animal like that is part of the family."
Notable Reunions And Impact
One memorable rescue involved a dog from Kibbutz Sufa that bolted when soldiers arrived; the owners were evacuated without her. The dog was later found at the gate of a neighboring kibbutz, retrieved by Shalev and her husband, and ultimately reunited with her family at a hotel on the Dead Sea. For many families, recovering a beloved pet provided a vital emotional lifeline after the trauma of evacuation.
Aftermath And Reopening
Nearly three years after October 7, Negev Vet clinics are operating again in a new format; the staff who worked with Shalev before the attacks were reportedly replaced. Shalev emphasizes that the award recognizes not just her efforts but the dedication of her husband, daughters and the many volunteers who joined the rescue operation.
WSAVA said Shalev's efforts underscore the critical role veterinary professionals can play in emergencies—helping to heal communities as well as animals. "Although this award bears my name," Shalev said, "it represents the compassion, courage and commitment of everyone who worked to save animals. It is a reminder of our responsibility as veterinarians to stand with animals and the people who love them in their most difficult moments."
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