The Aruban Dog Ordinance has been since 1946 more of a filler in the law books than an actual law. 75 years later we find ourselves with 40,000 dogs roaming the streets of which 80% of the dogs have owners (this information comes directly from the Head of Veterinary Department Dr. Irene Croes).

The last amendment was introduced as of 1/1/2015, but sadly for 5 years the law again was not put in action. In 2021 the Cabinet of Evelyn Wever-Croes has funded and rebranded the Aruban Dog Pound to the Centro di Control di Cacho. With the difference being, not only can you surrender your dog in person at the pound, as of March 2021 the Dog Catcher (Dog Control Unit) will come to your house and take the dog to the Pound. Dogs will be removed from public areas, if they are not claimed or re-homed, they will be euthanized.

There are small 6 Dog Rescues with even smaller shelters that can hold a maximum 55 dogs at the same time. The adult dogs take up to a year or never to get adopted. Puppies will be adopted out like they are hot buns. The donations are mostly from faithful Cunucu Dog lovers, who have seen the suffering of these dogs and ultimately have adopted one or more of our Cunucu Dogs. Between 3,500-4,000 puppies are adopted out a year. Adult dogs are around 100 or so a year. They stay in the Shelter, waiting for their chance to have a family.

Each month there are 100 puppies being born because Spay and Neuter Campaigns are too small to reach their audience, the irresponsible dog owner.

None of the Aruban Dog Rescues are funded by the government, nor are any of the volunteers or board members paid to work for their Dog Rescue. The donations help with the basic needs, food, shelter and basic vet treatments. But all Dog Rescues have a vet bill around USD5,000.00 to be paid at all times. There is no money to purchase a large parcel of land to house all the street dogs of Aruba. There is no money to care for all of these dogs. Donations are limited to a small group of loyal sponsors. Aruba is just a speck on the map of the world. Our Dog overpopulation problem competes with mayor countries like Spain, Greece, Romania, Turkey and Poland.

The Solution lies with our kids. They can still change how they want to treat an animal even if their parents lack interest in the dog and it's well being.

About 5 years ago Mrs. Inge van Roon (r.i.p), Mrs. Deborah Timmer and Dr. Natalie Booi have created a comprehensive educational tool to be distributed to school kids, Dog Ordinance 101 Lesson Package. 

Education is Key. The younger you learn how to treat your pet the closer Aruba will be to having a controlled Dog Population.

We all want to see an end to the suffering of the street dogs of Aruba.

Education of the benefits of spay and neuter are detrimental.

Education on how to change the perspective of the dog as a beloved family member instead of a thing that is in the yard in the scalding sun, PRICELESS.

These two elements are going to decrease the number of dogs being euthanized at the Dog Pound (Centro di Control di Cacho) because who would kill a family member and we will also see a huge decrease of unwanted puppies being born each month.

This is Mrs. Inge van Roon's legacy, a renowned Animal Advocate. She lived and breathed Dog Rescue till the last day of her life. She put a lot of effort in this lesson package because the cause was dear to her heart.

Let's do this for the dogs, let's do this for the children and let's do this for Inge!