The guide dog in Israel turning sirens into smiles

Venus is his third guide dog in the last 17 years – Lady, his first, retired with Erez’s brother-in-law, and Jay, his second, returned to his original foster family.

Recently, Venus’ presence has been crucial for Erez, who lives in Petah Tikva, as he makes his way to the bomb shelter several times daily as Iran’s Islamic regime and Hezbollah shoot missiles into Israel.

“It’s really amazing because normally, the main training for guide dogs is to stop at the kerb when crossing a road and to recognise important destinations for the client,” Erez said.

“Not how to deal with situations in the shelter with a lot of people, a lot of noise, children crying, strong booms from the interceptions, all over the city. But the dog understands that now they can give love to everyone, not just me.”

Indeed, Venus has made plenty friends in Erez’s nearest mamad (bomb shelter), where he and around 15 other families have spent a lot of time recently.

Erez Barkai and neighbours in the bomb shelter[Missing Credit]

“One of the families on the street has five children, the youngest of which is afraid of dogs. Every time Venus would walk closer to him, he would walk away,” Erez explained.

“But after four or five days, he [the young boy] came very close to Venus and started to pet her.

“This is a kid who, before that, would start to cry every time the sirens wake him up, as he’s very afraid. But from the day he petted Venus for the first time, when the next day there was a siren, he was excited to go to the shelter to see Venus.”

The touching anecdote which Erez shared relates to something that the centre has observed since October 7 – that the emotional benefits provided by their dogs are sometimes just as critical as the practical ones.

Indeed, the biggest demand for dogs at the moment is actually from people who have PTSD, not those with vision impairments, Karen Brosh said.

“The demand for the dogs has gone through the roof since October 7,” said Brosh, who is the executive director of IGDC UK. “But the demand for guide dogs has had a relatively steady increase; meanwhile the demand for PTSD support dogs has doubled in the last three years [to 2025].”

Karen Brosh, executive director of Israel Guide Dog Centre UK[Missing Credit]

That is primarily from those who directly witnessed the atrocities on October 7, and from older IDF veterans, she says, for whom seeing their own children going off serve in the current war has triggered their PTSD beyond its previously manageable levels.

This increased demand is why IGDC UK – which raises money in the UK to support the centre located in Rishon LeZion – is launching several new campaigns in the coming months.

The first is a sponsored walking challenge, where participants will walk 78 kilometres in 30 days to mark Israel’s 78th birthday, starting on Yom Ha’atzmaut.

“It’s a good way for anyone to get involved – wherever they are in the UK – to fundraise, get exercise, and spread awareness”, said Karen, who has been working at the centre for a year.

The other campaign is running in primary schools, encouraging children to draw a superhero dog or human-and-dog duo, in honour of IGDC UK’s late executive director Martin Segal, who was “a real superhero”.

“It was important for me to do something meaningful in Martin’s memory,” Karen continued.

These campaigns will hopefully allow “a fantastic centre working really hard in very difficult circumstances” to “keep creating life-changing partnerships,” she said.

People who are partnered with dogs from IGDC do not pay for them, hence the significance of campaigns like these.

Erez, as well as being one of the beneficiaries of centre’s work, has also worked for the centre in Israel for the last three-and-a-half years, as both its director of community relations and its accessibility coordinator.

At the centre, the process begins with the breeding dogs – who are apparently “picking up on the stress” at the moment, Karen said, affecting the number of dogs being bred.

Dogs stay with the centre for the first eight weeks of their life, before a puppy raiser takes care of them until around 12 months old, training them on basic commands.

Karen Brosh in the Israel Guide Dog Centre in Rishon LeZion[Missing Credit]

Then, they are assessed to discern whether they are capable of being a guide dog, PTSD service dog, emotional support dog, or breeding dog. Those that fall into the first three categories receive around five months of training, followed by another month with their human partner.

Given their extensive training, it is no surprise that the dogs are well attuned to their humans’ emotions.

“The dogs are very intelligent and can see if they need to come to the person, to touch them, to wait for the blind person near the door. They understand after just a few times how to deal with the situation,” Erez said.

“But when a person hears the siren, they know someone is trying to kill them with a missile,” Erez continued. “The dog knows that when he hears a siren, his owner will take its pouch, there will be treats in there, we will go to the shelter and it’s like a party for them.

“That’s the way we want our dogs to understand the sirens,” Erez smiled. “We don’t want them to be afraid; we want them to be happy.”