Dog saves owner in rocket attack on Ashkelon

By ANAV SILVERMAN

(TAZPIT NEWS AGENCY) – The coastal city of Ashkelon, with a population of 130,000 people, suffered several rocket attacks on Sunday. In one attack a rocket slammed into a four-story building, penetrating through the roof of the stairwell, and continuing on, leaving a large gaping hole in the floor of one apartment, and in the ceiling of the apartment below. Two people sustained injuries from the attack and five suffered shock. The rundown apartment building is home to Russians and, more recently, Ethiopian immigrants as well as native Israelis.

For Ashkelon residents Alex Leibowitz and his wife Olga, parents of four, that rocket attack could have had much more serious consequences had it not been for their dog, Louisa.

Louisa, the dog credited with saving her owner's life. (Photo by Anav Silverman)

Alex was home not feeling well on Sunday, while his wife had left to work in the morning. At one point, their dog began barking incessantly. “Louisa just kept on nervously barking non-stop and I couldn’t listen to it any longer, so l went back to the bedroom,” explained Alex.

Because of the barking, Alex did not hear the rocket warning siren and remained in his bedroom. Residents of Ashkelon have only 30 seconds to get to shelter once the sirens sound. Within seconds, a rocket fired from Gaza struck his apartment building, slicing into his apartment door and penetrating his floor, leaving a trail of debris, shrapnel and shattered glass in its path.

“It was a miracle,” Leibowitz said. “Had I gone done the stairwell, if I had heard the siren, the rocket would have caught me.”

His wife concurred. “Louisa’s barking kept my husband alive,” she added. “It was as if our dog had some kind of sixth sense to know that a rocket was on its way.”

Although the front end of the Leibovitzes’ apartment has been badly devastated, the couple feels very fortunate.

“We have such a good dog,” the wife continued, patting Louisa’s head as she sat calmly on the porch. Surveying the large hole in her living room she commented “We are lucky people today. This could have been a much worse situation.”