Mrs. Vera Santar was born in 1922 in Hungary and came to what was then Palestine in 1939.

During WWII she volunteered in the central hospital in Haifa, where she lived. This was an important experience which started her on the road to helping the weak, be they people or animals.

At the time of mass immigration to Israel in the early 1950s she volunteered to help families from North Africa to adapt to life in an alien culture. She lived then in Ashdod, a town of new immigrants, where she set up the first lodge of Bnei Brith, an international Jewish organization dedicated to helping underprivileged Jewish people, and was its president for many years.

Mrs. Santar had always been fond of animals and her home was never without at least one pet, dog or cat, and sometimes both. In 1976 she founded, in her home-town Beersheva, a Society for Protection of Animals from Cruelty and was very active in running it together with her husband, a lawyer. This in addition to volunteering in the local club for the blind and continuing her activities in Bnei Brith.

In 1982 Mrs. Santar moved to Rehovot, where she immediately became part of the volunteering community. She continued her work with and for the blind, as well as with the local Bnei Brith lodge and also volunteered in the Rehovot hospital. However, most of her time belonged to the Rehovot Society for the Protection of Animals, where she fulfilled the functions of treasurer, kept up international relations and managed special projects. Among other activities, she was instrumental in the formulation of the animal rights law in Israel in 1994.

One project especially dear to her heart was the education of schoolchildren to prevent cruelty to animals. She raised funds for a special room in the dog shelter, engaged a dog-trainer who had experience in teaching children and established contacts with schools and youth clubs. The project was particularly important in giving the children from the recently-immigrated Ethiopian community their first experience with dogs as pets, a totally new concept for them.

Mrs. Santar was the recipient of the Shield of Merit from the Ministry of Environment for 25 years of volunteering. She was also named Honorary Resident of the town of Rehovot.

Her sudden death on December 1, 2008 was a great loss to her family, her friends and co-workers, and the entire community.