United Hatzalah’s first therapy dog dies after 11 years of service

United Hatzalah, Israel’s volunteer emergency medical service, announced on Friday that Lucy, the first dog to serve in the organization’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit K-9 program, had died after 11 years of service.

The unit deploys specially trained therapy dogs alongside psychotrauma responders to help calm victims, reduce anxiety and support people coping with traumatic emergencies.

In addition to responding to incidents across Israel, Lucy and her handler, United Hatzalah volunteer Batya Yaffe, deployed to Surfside, Fla., following the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium, which killed 98 people. There, Lucy provided emotional support to grieving families, first responders and members of the affected community.

“I watched children who were terrified suddenly focus on her, and adults experiencing unimaginable grief reach down to pet her and begin to open up,” Yaffe said. “She never knew that she was doing something extraordinary. She simply gave people love when they needed it most.”

The canine program Lucy helped establish has since grown to include dozens of specially trained dogs that continue the mission of “bringing hope, comfort and healing to those in need,” United Hatzalah stated.

“At the scene of a tragedy, there are wounds that cannot be seen,” United Hatzalah founder and president Eli Beer said. “Lucy was special because she saw the pain and instinctively knew how to help reach those people.”

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