(Oranjestad)—This past Saturday, Aruba saw an overwhelming support from both locals and tourist for the viral dog Khaleesi. Dressed in all white—and even accompanied by their own dogs, volunteers and supported participated in a silent walk dedicated to the memory of Khaleesi and to raise awareness for the negligence and abuse of dogs.
Khaleesi’s story broke late March, when volunteers at the Luna Foundation found the pup in a horrible state, and having just given birth to five little puppies. This story went viral on the island, as people were shocked and heartbroken about the situation. This story connected with tourists as well, as Luna Foundations is known among visitors in the US and other countries. Many locals expressed their deepest sympathies and frustrations, and many donated to the foundation to help the pup. Unfortunately, Khaleesi herself did not make it to recovery, but her story sparked an aggressive call for action.
Last Saturday, one of the organizers of the Walk of Light, Zoey Conijn-Berkel from Luna Foundation Aruba Inc., assured that she was satisfied and proud to see how many people attended the animal abuse awareness event. “It’s a good feeling to see how many people came.”
It’s not possible to say exactly how many people there were, but Conijn-Berkel ensured that they managed to sell more than 800 T-shirts, and that may be an indicator—although it may also be that some did not manage to attend. Nevertheless, the support was overwhelming, and it showed how much people care about the well-being of our pets and animals in general.
Notably, tourists were also present at the event, and the Dutch media team, NOS, came to Aruba to cover the event, “so the world can see that it’s not just about aggression or abuse, it’s about change, a change for our pets, not just dogs.”
Conijn-Berkel added that the foundations will continue to urge the government to adjust the law. “They don’t need to write a new law, they can copy and paste the one from the Netherlands; there needs to be a change in the law, otherwise we’ll keep going in circles,” she said. “The walk is to calm people and focus directly on what’s happening with animal abuse on our island. What happened with Khaleesi is not an isolated case; this has been happening for years, it’s just that what happened with her went viral and got extra attention.”
Among those present, other foundations, people walking their dogs, and even children standing against this type of action against our animals were also seen.
