An Israeli teenager freed from Hamas with his pet Shih Tzu said taking his dog with him for two months in captivity was a “huge help” because the dog provided “moral support.”
Mia Leimberg, 17, who left a Hamas prisoner with her pet, Bella, in her arms in one of the most dramatic moments of the week-long truce between Israel and the terrorist organization, said the dog continues to occupy her in Gaza.
“When we were there, we had to feed him our leftovers,” the teenager said. “And we have to make sure he doesn’t go wild where we are. We had to restrain him so he wouldn’t go exploring and disturb anyone there.”
Leimberg said it was “difficult” to carry the little dog more than two miles after being freed, but he considered himself “pretty lucky that I managed to hold him through the whole situation and bring him back” to Jerusalem.
He also credited Bella’s calm demeanor for helping him keep his dog safe in captivity, saying he didn’t think his captors would let him keep the animal if they thought he was “disturbing”.
Mia Leimberg was released as a Hamas hostage with her shih tzu Bella. Reuters
“Fortunately for me Bella is unlike all the other little dogs I know personally, she is quite quiet, except when she is playing or angry,” he said.
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He also hid the dog under a nightgown as they were loaded into a vehicle to be driven out of the kibbutz to the hostage location. It wasn’t until they reached the tunnel that the terrorists realized the animal was not a dog.
“When they came out of the tunnel, they had to climb the stairs, that’s when the Hamas people realized that this was not a doll, it was a living, breathing dog,” said his father, Moshe. “A little argument ensued, and it was decided to let him keep the dog rather than leave him.”
After his release, his family was shocked to find him holding the dog. They had spent weeks looking for the little animal.
“He was worried something would happen to the dog if he left it,” said his father, Moshe.
Since his release, he now regularly tells Bella: “I love you to Gaza and back.”
Leimberg and his mother, Gabriela, were visiting family at Kibbutz Nir Yirzhak when they were taken hostage on October 7 — the start of the war.
Mia and her mother Gabriela were visiting family in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak when they were taken hostage by Hamas. Al Qahera news
The two, along with Bella and her aunt were released as part of a prisoner-for-hostage swap, which saw more than 100 prisoners released from Hamas.
Leimberg said it will “take quite a while” for the experience to “sink in,” but credits her dog for being a “huge help.”
“He keeps me busy. He is a moral support,” he said.
Mia hid the dog under her nightgown as it was loaded into the vehicle that drove out of the kibbutz. via REUTERS
His family will now continue to fight for the release of the other hostages, including his uncle and aunt’s partner.
“We miss them every day and it feels wrong to be here without them,” he said. “While I’m happy to be back, we’re not done yet.”
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
