by Sarah Oren Brasky, Year Course 2004 – 2005

[Note: Mrs. Brasky graduated from Binghamton University with a BA in Cinema in 2008. She created FosterDogsNYC.com in 2009, and soon after started The Dog Matchmaker in 2010. Upon completing her MS in Elementary Education at Southern Connecticut State University in 2013, she became a preschool teacher at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn.]

After my senior year of high school, I went on Young Judaea’s Year Course in Israel program, where I spent nine months in Israel, traveling around the country and spending time volunteering and taking college-level courses.

For those people who know me, they are well aware of my passion for animals. I had volunteered and worked with dogs throughout middle school and high school, and was able to continue this work while on Year Course. Our YC section spent four months in Tiberias, on the Gallilee. The region is beautiful, though the city itself has many poor areas and is not the most desirable locale. One saving grace was when I received my volunteer placement: the municipal animal shelter (Kalbiyah). This was not a job for the faint of heart. The facilities were under-funded, smelly, and often filthy; many dogs died of illness during my time there. At one point, I felt so badly for one tiny puppy (he must have been five weeks old) that I received permission from the shelter manager to bring him back to the dorms with me; suffice it to say, my YC friends were enamored. I ran an adoption event with my somewhat limited Hebrew skills, and hung beautiful posters all over town. This was a time to dive further into dog rescue, and to be helpful in a place that was in dire need.

Not only did I volunteer with Tiberias’ municipal animal shelter, but I also spent four weeks working full-time at the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. This experience was pretty incredible; one of those opportunities I might have never had in the “real world.” Where else can you bathe a hippo, take a selfie with a kangaroo, hold a dove and an iguana (separately), and scoop up giraffe poop — in one day?

After graduating from SUNY Binghamton in 2008, I began fostering dogs. My website www.fosterdognyc.com developed quite organically. I saw a need for a central website that not only provided info about fostering in general, but also displayed shelter dogs in need of/currently in foster care. What began as a small blog in August of 2009 has become a thriving nonprofit organization boasting hundreds of success stories (dogs who found homes through my site)! I now have a team of dedicated volunteers who help run our events and charitable giving efforts.

Around the time of FosterDogsNYC.com’s birth, I started my small business The Dog Matchmaker. My goal is to connect potential adopters with the dog of their dreams, strictly through adoption. www.thedogmatchmaker.com. In fact, I just made a match this week: a lovely retired couple wanted to adopt a small fluffy dog who would get along with their cat; I knew just the dog, and they are smitten! My work has been featured in Costco Connection, The Jewish Week (NY), The Bark Magazine, Petfinder.com, and more!

When someone wants to adopt a dog and finds out about my service, they start by completing my simple questionnaire. Their responses to my questions really help me figure out what dog they are looking for as well as what dog types to recommend for them. For example, if someone tells me that they want a Poodle puppy, though they work full time and want a mellow dog, then I would start by recommending that they consider an older poodle, who would be calmer and able to be alone for longer periods of time. Part of my job is to support the adopters and remind them how wonderful adoption is, and how to make it a pleasant process for everyone. Nothing makes me more fulfilled than facilitating a successful adoption match – and foster match!

Adoption and fostering is incredibly important. Millions of dogs and cats are euthanized in animal shelters yearly due to lack of space in municipal shelter, though thousands – if not millions – of animal lives would be spared if those animals had a safe home to live in. I hate to be a drag, I really do; but if everyone says, “I want to foster, though I’d get too attached,” no one would do it. Sure, we all get somewhat attached to our foster pets (full disclosure: I kept two of my eight foster dogs!), it’s only natural. What keeps me grounded is the reminder that these animals will move on to great “forever” homes, and I’ll still have room to take on a new foster pet in the future. Foster homes are the “missing link” in many shelter systems, and can make such an incredible difference! No matter how pleasant the animal shelter facility might be, a home is a far better place for a dog. These are domesticated creatures, bred to be companions to humans; most dogs crave human interaction! When faced with small kennels/cages, cold floors, few walks, and frequent barking/whining, a dog can become distressed, thus not appearing very desirable to incoming adopters. It’s a lose-lose scenario for those distressed animals: utter discomfort plus lack of adopters. When placed in a foster home, they begin to relax, learn routines, practice their housetraining, improve their health, socialize with people and animals, and of course gain better photos!
My independent volunteer time on Year Course was a great pipeline to Foster Dogs NYC and the Dog Matchmaker. It allowed me to continue helping animals and explore dog fostering with confidence and support, in a community that so badly needed the assistance.
I have so many projects at the moment, it’s hard to know where to begin. Foster Dogs NYC needs to raise funds, as we plan to prepare “Foster Starter Kits” for new foster caretakers in NYC. These kits will include: durable rubber toy, locally-made treats, a do-it-yourself dog ID tag, emergency information sheet, and biodegradable dog waste bags. We also want to raise funds to sponsor a new Fospice dog this summer. Fospice is our program to help an elderly shelter dog into foster care, and provide funding where possible. We have several willing foster homes, and need funding ($500 sponsorship per dog) in order to take on a new recipient. Read more about Fospice here: http://fosterdogsnyc.com/introducing-fospice-program/

by Fernando Kopelman, WUJS Participant

Primer semana en Tel Aviv. Después de la pequeña aventura que implica siempre viajar, me instalé en el nuevo departamento, junto a dos roomates. Estamos ubicados en el corazón del barrio joven -y ridículamente hipster- de Florentin, entre bares, restaurantes orgánicos veganos, fábricas de muebles con techos de chapa y graffitis en las paredes. En un tercer piso un amplio balcón se despliega de un espacioso y luminoso living, conectado a una agradable cocina abierta, con un baño de buen tamaño y dos habitaciones pequeñas. Este será mi hogar por los próximos cinco meses, como participante del programa de WUJS.

Al día siguiente de la mudanza conocí a resto de los participantes y al staff del programa, en una primera reunión de orientación. Somos un grupo menor al anterior –alrededor de 22 participantes- pero bastante diverso. La mitad de diferentes ciudades de Estados Unidos, la otra mitad de lugares como Rusia, Inglaterra, Francia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Australia y Argentina –quien suscribe-, todos con profesiones que fluctúan de abogados a escritores y de programadores a maquilladores. Promete ser un grupo interesante y agradable.

Los días siguientes han sido tranquilos. Orientación por parte de los coordinadores, información importante, algunas caminatas para conocer lugares útiles. Comer falafel, cenar hummus, comer más falafel. Empezar a conocernos con los otros miembros. Relajarnos, adaptarnos y disfrutar el viento fresco y el Sol del poco convincente invierno Israelí.

Ahora, siendo casi las ocho de la noche de un viernes, la ciudad ya lleva más de una hora apagada. Adelantándose al Shabbat -sábado-, en el cual según la tradición judía no se trabaja, no se enciende fuego ni se usa energía eléctrica, entre otras cosas, los negocios bajan sus persianas y las calles se van silenciando. La ciudad, joven y moderna, no se acata a todas las reglas, sin embargo. Las ventanas brillan, algunos autos se dejan oír de vez en cuando y una fiesta con karaoke dentro de algún hogar demuestra que no estamos en Jerusalem. Pero el trabajo cesa y la gente aprovecha para reunirse y comer. Ese es nuestro plan de esta noche, reunirnos todos los integrantes del programa a tener una cena de Shabbat. Es extraño practicar costumbres judías con un grupo de gente que, en su mayoría, no las practica por separado. Pero nunca he dicho que no a la oportunidad de reunirme con gente, comer y pasar un buen rato.

Mañana, como todos los sábados, lo tendremos libre. El domingo partimos a un viaje de dos días al sur, para luego empezar con las clases intensivas de hebreo la semana que viene. El jueves debería de tener mi primer excursión al estudio de animación donde se supone que estaré como pasante.

De a poco nos iremos asentando y entrando en nuestras respectivas rutinas, intentando equilibrar esta sensación de ser turista y ciudadano a la vez. Y no podría estar emocionado.

Shabbat Shalom (que es como desear un buen sábado; aunque el sábado israelí es como un domingo y el domingo como un lunes).

by Miriam Alexander, Year Course participant

I first visited Sderot summer of 2012 through Young Judaea’s 5-week Machon program, and to be honest, I felt distanced from the experience. I did not understand the depth of the conflict at that time and saw myself as an outsider looking in on a situation about which I had yet to develop an opinion. With the new ideas and perspectives I have gained over these last 7 months in Israel, I felt I could relate to the people in Sderot. While I am fortunate enough to live in an area that is more secure, it is possible I too could be subject to the terrorism and PTSD that these residents suffer. Experiencing daily Israeli culture granted me a kinship with Israelis; it is not far-fetched to imagine myself in their position.

On our Siyur we were led by the director of a media coverage group who explained the danger the residents of Sderot face daily.  He showed us a film clip made by the organization called “15 Seconds”.  The video showed what happens in the city once a Tzeva Adom (code red) siren goes off; everyone immediately runs to the nearest bomb shelter and counts down from 15 until a rocket lands.  “15 Seconds” is a very emotional video that captured all of our attentions.  From there we went on a short tour through Sderot including a stop at a playground made famous for its creation of a bomb shelter in the shape of a caterpillar.  It is both amazing, and awful, what the children of Sderot learn at a young age.  Instead of nap-time and monkey bars, these children are witnessing fire and destruction.  It is no wonder most of these children suffer from PTSD.

 

I am grateful to have visited Sderot with Young Judaea –  it is very important for Year-Coursers to visit the city and gain perspective after learning so much about the Arab-Israeli conflict.