Nobody knows when the first cats and dogs arrived in Aruba but we  do know that the problems with abandoned pets is not a recent thing.   

The dog law, which the police still use today, was implemented on  1st February 1955 and was drawn up to deal with the problems of stray dogs even in those days. 

With the support of the Loge of Vrijmetselaars, the Aruba Association  for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals started the first Animal  Shelter in 1950. 

This shelter was located in an old reconstructed bunker  at the airport. Thanks to Gunther Bosse, a volunteer at this first shelter and still a  dedicated animal lover, we have pictures of this historic occasion. On this picture you can see mr. Bosse with one of the puppies. Back then, the dogs were housed in small kennels with woodscrews on  the bottom and these were changed twice a week. 

Under a roof the food  (leftovers from the local butchers) was cooked together with rice. Scurfy was treated, according to local animal health care, with old  motor oil and the dogs were soaked in a bath with tick powder  provided  by the vet to get rid of these unwanted pest.

 (In the picture) The treatment of scurf: The first three weeks the dogs were covered every day in old motor  oil. This was then washed off with Kerosene and then the dogs were  bathed with soap (“Lifeboy” no less, because it foamed and smelt so  good!). 

Then they were rubbed with baby oil for a few days to make their  skin soft and supple again. At the end of this treatment the hair was  usually already growing back. 

To try to keep the animal shelter in existence the Animal Shelter  Aruba was founded in 1952, however in less than ten years the shelter  ceased to exist. Lack of funding and the departure of some hardworking  volunteers like Leo van Doren and Miss Jansen, who cooked the food, were  the main reasons for this tragic loss.
According to the Slacht- and Keurings Law of 1933, the position of a  Director must be fulfilled by a vet.  

The healthcare and daily treatment  for today’s pets, like cats and dogs, was not what it should have been.  It was better to take your dog to your own doctor for treatment with  antibiotics as vaccinations or medicine for heart worm did not exist.  

This situation only improved during the last quarter of the 20th Century. In 1987, vets Theo Wools and Ed van der Hoeven decided to employ an  assistant for their veterinary clinic, Yvonne Hieroms. She quit her job  at the veterinary laboratory and commenced part-time employment as a  veterinary assistant. 

In her new job she was confronted with a  never-ending stream of unwanted dogs and cats, which the government vets  put to sleep on a daily basis. She started calling people who she knew wanted a dog, when, in her  opinion, there was a good, healthy dog available. 

Later she started  taking in dogs from the holding areas who looked healthy and for which  she was sure she could find a new owner. She financed the feeding and  care herself until she had found someone who wanted to take the dog.  

This initiative would have possibly died down if it wasn’t for Joseph  and Julie Horngrad, an American couple who had resided on Aruba for some  time and who in 1986 decided to do something about the suffering of  animals. 

The story told is that Julie went one day  to buy a blouse and at the entrance of the store found a little stray  kitten. Instead of buying a blouse she decided to start an animal  welfare organisation instead! And thus, on 9th October 1986, she and Joseph attended at  the notary to start the Aruba Animal Shelter Foundation. 

Together with  both Theo Wools from the veterinary service and Yvonne Hieroms, plans  put in place to transfer the old stables of the veterinary service into  appropriate housing for the cats and dogs. 

Collecting funding was carried out by Julie and Joseph who also donated a fair amount of money themselves.

     

In August of 1987 “The Shelter”, located on the terrain of the  veterinary service in Arendstraat, was officially opened by Minister  Edgar “Watty” Vos In 1991, vet Pieter Barendsen took over as Chairman at the request of  Julie Horngrad and more people joined the Board. 

Thanks to the greater  number of volunteers the workload could then be shared and other  activities, such as the traditional Open House (around Animal’s Day on 4  th October) and Dog Shows were introduced to the island.
When the slaughterhouse moved to a different location in the mid  90’s, the shelter lost its housing. 

The vets were, however, able to  convince the government of the necessity for an animal shelter and a  piece of land was made available for the shelter at it’s current  location in Wayaca, next to veterinary clinic. 

The Board and volunteers  worked very hard and soon enough money had been raised to build a new  shelter.
On Animal’s Day, 4th October 1996, the new shelter at 128-B Wayaca was officially opened.