Not all United Hatzalah patients are human, and not all the losses its volunteers mourn are human either.

Today, United Hatzalah mourns the passing of Lucy, the first canine member of the organization’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit, following 11 years of service helping victims of accidents, fires, terror attacks and disasters.

Lucy, the beloved dog of United Hatzalah volunteers Batya and Moshe Yaffe, underwent specialized training before beginning what would become a remarkable career providing psychological first aid alongside human first responders.

While United Hatzalah is best known for its more than 8,600 volunteer EMTs, paramedics and doctors, many are unaware that the organization also operates a canine unit. Its specially trained dogs respond to traumatic emergencies, where their presence can help calm victims, particularly children, reduce anxiety and assist psychotrauma responders in drawing people away from distressing scenes so that emotional stabilization can begin.

Lucy was the first

Over the years she responded to countless emergencies in Israel and also deployed internationally. Following the 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, Lucy worked alongside United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit supporting families awaiting news of missing loved ones, displaced residents and first responders.

“Lucy had an extraordinary ability to read peoples mood, even without a single word spoken,” said her handler, Batya Yaffe. “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. She never knew that she was doing something extraordinary. She simply gave people love when they needed it most.”

Lucy also helped pave the way for the expansion of United Hatzalah’s canine program. Today, dozens of specially trained dogs continue responding alongside their handlers.

“Our Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit taught us that lifesaving is not only about treating the body,” said United Hatzalah Founder and President Eli Beer. “At the scene of a tragedy, there are wounds that cannot be seen. Lucy was special because she saw the pain and instinctively knew how to help reach those people.”

After 11 years of compassion and service, Lucy leaves behind a legacy carried forward every day by the dogs and volunteers who followed in her paw prints.