Our Story -
Starting Over Sanctuary (NPO)
Starting Over is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal suffering through rescue efforts and by promoting spaying and neutering to combat overpopulation.
Our shelter rescues, sterilizes, treats, and rehabilitates animals that have been rescued from the streets, from difficult working lives, from petting zoos, and from various animal industries. The sanctuary provides a safe haven for animals from all over the country who have suffered abuse, severe neglect, or abandonment. Here, they receive the chance for a life of freedom, love, and companionship—a chance to start over.
We actively seek out and find loving homes for many of the animals, where they can receive personal attention and thrive in a nurturing environment.
Our sanctuary serves not only as a haven for the animals but also as a welcoming space for visitors and volunteers.
We are committed to promoting education and outreach regarding animal care and welfare, raising public awareness of their rights, and fostering a compassionate, healthy, and tolerant society.
Additionally, the sanctuary cultivates a mutually beneficial relationship between the animals and special populations. We work to educate at-risk youth and disadvantaged groups, instilling values of empowerment through their involvement in animal care. This initiative encourages the development of responsibility, compassion, teamwork, and leadership skills.
How it all started…
Sharon Cohen - Founder of the NPO
I was born and raised in Bnei Brak until the age of 4 and then in Givatayim. An urban girl.
Despite this, my story with animals began long before Starting Over Sanctuary was founded. I was born with a deep love for animals, and from childhood, I could never ignore their suffering. Helping them became an integral part of my life. Even as a child, their well-being always came first, and my commitment to preventing their suffering governed my life and saved many lives.
At the age of 14 I started volunteering at an animal shelter, where I was exposed to the immense suffering of animals, particularly in urban kennels, where many dogs and cats face a bitter fate. I also connected with other compassionate people who dedicate their lives to advocating for animals. Growing up in this environment, I became part of a society that fights for animal rights and promotes their well-being.
I was exposed to both the evil and the good sides of humanity.
After my military service, I started working at the Let the Animals Live NGO as a call center operator. This job opened my eyes to the tough situations animals are facing in Israel and let me connect with a lot of amazing people who are dedicated to helping them. I realized that despite all the negativity out there, there are many good people who really care and fight for animals, no matter how tough it gets. I worked closely with Eti Altman, the founder of Let the Animals Live, and she taught me how to stand up for what's right and to bang on the authorities tables when needed. I learned to fight and fight tooth and nail and that even when it feels hopeless, it's important not to give up! It was there that I truly grew up and found my voice for the animals.
At the age of 33, I moved to the Morasha neighborhood of Ramat Hasharon, where I settled into a charming, very old private house with a one-dunam yard. I created a small personal sanctuary, convinced that there would be room for everyone, and that both the animals and I would have peace for many years. I felt I had fulfilled a dream—until one phone call changed my life and the lives of thousands of animals.
Almost at midnight on a Friday, I received a call from a girl who desperately pleaded for the life of a small donkey foal who had been left tied up outdoors in the rain for five days. When I arrived at the location that night, I was confronted with a harsh reality I had never known—the dire situation and the lack of solutions for donkeys in Israel. On the very first day that the little foal, whom I named Tinkerbell, was rescued, I began searching for a more suitable solution for her than my private home in Ramat Hasharon.
I did not know then. that the task I was facing with was so difficult, discouraging, and almost impossible. It became clear that Tinkerbell would be staying with me forever. However, I never imagined that from that day forward, my life would change completely and that, thanks to this innocent little foal, thousands more animals would be saved.
The lives saved thanks to Tinkerbell
Following my posts in an attempt to find Tinkerbell a home, I started receiving inquiries from people who mistakenly thought I was running a donkey shelter, despite having had no prior involvement with donkeys until that day. Unable to ignore the inquiries, I began privately rescuing donkeys that were in horrific situations. I soon became aware that even in Israel, donkeys and horses are still forced to pull carts and are often condemned to a life of suffering and hard labor until they die.
With each rescue, I reached out to the general public for assistance in covering the medical treatment and rehabilitation costs for the donkeys. I quickly realized that many people shared my need to save these poor animals from their brutal fates.
I was amazed by the incredible commitment from the public and understood that I could help many more animals. With their support, I gained the confidence and courage to establish a nonprofit organization (NPO) and move to a larger facility that was also suitable for donkeys.
Before long, we became the largest rescue shelter in Israel and one of the most populated in the world!
Starting Over: The Animal Rehabilitation Sanctuary
The Starting Over Sanctuary was founded in 2017 by Sharon Cohen to rescue and rehabilitate animals in distress, providing them with a haven to live their lives. Most of the animals at the sanctuary have been abused or severely neglected, with a significant number being horses and donkeys rescued from carting and hard labor. Today, the sanctuary is home to nearly 2,000 animals, almost 1,000 of which are donkeys. The sanctuary is divided into designated areas based on the animals' type and conditions, including areas for the blind and disabled, elderly animals, those undergoing rehabilitation, a nursery for pregnant donkeys (there is no breeding at the sanctuary but many of the female donkeys arrive pregnant), and an orphanage for young donkeys.
Additionally, the cattery houses over 300 cats, including blind and disabled cats, orphaned kittens, and cats that have experienced difficult lives on the streets. It also takes in house cats that were harmed or those whose owners have passed away, leaving them with nowhere to go.
The vast majority of the donkeys came from a life of hard labor, pulling carts until their legs broke or they collapsed from exhaustion. Some arrived after severe and deliberate abuse and suffer from severe injuries that require long-term rehabilitation.
Before 2022, those that did not collapse were collected by traders to sell them and transport them to Gaza for hard labor, or to Egypt for the Chinese ajayu industry (slaughtering and exporting the hides to China, where ajayu is produced from their skin).
Our NPO ended these transfers, and the donkeys were transferred into our care for rehabilitation and a new life, where they would be protected from harm.
Almost 100 horses, some of which are disabled and/or blind, also live in specially adapted areas. Some of the horses also came from pulling carts, and some from riding farms that abandoned them to their fate when they reached old age or were injured and no longer of use.
Over 300 cats, some of whom are disabled and/or blind, reside in a specially adapted rehabilitation complex designed for their care.
Dogs rescued from difficult places, many goats and sheep rescued after being abandoned or confiscated following injury or neglect. Cows, two pigs rescued from an experimental laboratory, two tortoises, one of which came from Kibbutz Be'eri following October 7th, rabbits, chickens, and other fowl.
Help us help them
The NPO relies on donations to operate. With your support, we can transform the lives of animals, allowing them to be seen as individuals rather than just objects, and giving them the chance to start over.
Thank you on behalf of the shelter's residents, those in need outside our walls, and the younger generation, altering their perception and attitude toward animals and themselves.
