On Saturday, April 13th, at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, the community of Aruba will have the opportunity to participate in a silent walk called “Walk of Light,” a positive activity organized by various foundations that rescue animals and are also dedicated to the special dog Khaleesi.
For this, a reporter from our sister paper Bon Dia Aruba contacted Zoey Conijn Berkel of Luna Foundation Aruba Inc, where she explained that this is an activity so people don鈥檛 forget what recently happened with the dog named “Khaleesi,” whose death due to mistreatment and abuse shook the Aruban community and resulted in many demanding a change in the dog law for better treatment of dogs.
“In memory of her, we are doing the walk, to unite our community,” Zoey assured.
Dress in white for the walk
For this reason, next week on Saturday, April 13th, from 5 o’clock in the afternoon until 8 o’clock at night, the walk will start at the Fire Department near the airport and will end at Governor’s Bay Beach. The intention is for those who want to participate to wear white and also to bring signs, flags, lights, or bells. It is not allowed to bring balloons to preserve the environment.
Furthermore, Zoey ensured that this is a silent walk and not a walk for dogs either. “If a dog behaves itself, without barking, and if it walks calmly, then it may accompany, otherwise not, because the idea is for people to understand what went wrong with Khaleesi and to prevent it from happening again.”
This case is raising more awareness in the community “and that shows me that Khaleesi did not die in vain, her death did something, it opened people’s eyes, it made people wake up from their dreams to start taking a look at what’s happening here,” she mentioned.
Change in dog law underway
Zoey commented that they talked with the office of the responsible minister, Ursell Arends, where they are working to change the law because the law at the moment indicates that if a person kills another person’s dog, it is punishable, but if a person kills their own dog, it is punishable but with less severity. “For me, abuse is abuse, whether it’s my dog or someone else’s, the punishment should be the same, and they want to change the law, they told me they are trying to change it in a way that usually takes a year or two to change, and they are trying to push it to be changed by the end of December, because what’s happening now happens almost every day,” she commented.
Luna Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and nurturing stray dogs (back to health), whose work is recognized and appreciated from both locals and foreign volunteers. For those interested in getting a T-shirt and a sticker, they can contact the number indicated on the flyer: 5946689.
