Galia Melman Shalev to receive veterinary award — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, veterinarian and founder of the Negev Vet clinic network Galia Melman Shalev is set to receive the Animal Welfare Award 2026 from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA). The award is presented for rescuing and treating hundreds of pets left behind in evacuated communities near the Gaza Strip border after the October 7 attack.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post, Shalev was nominated by the Israel Companion Animal Veterinary Association. WSAVA recognized her dedication to her work, actions in combat conditions, leadership and risk to her own life.
Assistance in evacuated communities
The day after reuniting with her children, Shalev returned with her husband, Ziv, to the moshav of Ein HaBesor near the Gaza border. The couple brought basic supplies, food and medicines and began searching for animals in evacuated communities in the western Negev.
According to the publication, they found animals left in burned houses, wounded by bullets or shrapnel, as well as those wandering the area traumatized and without water or food. When Shalev's private clinic could no longer accommodate all the rescued animals, she and her husband set up a temporary shelter in a stable in the moshav.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
A volunteer network formed around the shelter. The veterinarian's daughter and her friends from Ben-Gurion University organized a coordination center via Zoom to find temporary caretakers for the animals. The veterinary organization also set up a coordination center in Beit Shemesh.
Emergency clinic in Eilat
Later, Shalev evacuated to Eilat, where she opened an improvised veterinary clinic on the minus-first floor of the Royal Beach hotel. For three months, she provided free care to hundreds of pets belonging to evacuated people staying in the city's hotels.
The veterinarian documented every case, checked microchips and updated the national database. Negev Vet clinics are now operating again in a new format.
