The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Humane Society President Kim Aranha called the deaths of two Canadian animal activists “a great tragedy” after the couple were struck by a car and killed in Exuma.

Mrs Aranha said she was set to have lunch with 55-year-old Jill Gandza and 57-year-old Ron Gandza yesterday afternoon, having known them for years as avid supporters of the country’s potcake population.

The couple were even due to take a dog back to Canada with them - Pinkie the potcake.

Mrs Gandza was a retired nurse while Mr Gandza had a job at General Motors in Canada; the couple divided their time between their native St Catharines, Canada and the Bahamas.

“They have been great champions of potcakes for a long time - four to five years,” Mrs Aranha said.

“They visited the Exumas once to be part of a spay and neuter clinic - not Operation Potcake, something like that, but smaller - and they fell in love with the Bahamas. They kept coming back.”

The Humane Society president said the couple would find homes for local dogs, foster dogs in their own home, and even take potcakes to Canada for adoption.

“Whenever they went back to Canada, they took potcakes with them to find them good homes,” Mrs Aranha said, adding that these potcakes were sometimes puppies the Humane Society had trouble adopting out.

Mrs Gandza would also host a yearly party for potcake owners and potcakes in the area.

“And she did it all at her own expense - she never tried to get money,” Mrs Aranha added.

“She was supposed to have lunch with me today and then they would go on to Canada and take a potcake with them called Pinkie. They have a small studio apartment outside of George Town - they were down there for two weeks.”

The couple was walking home after an evening at local hotel called the Peace and Plenty on Thursday night - “they chose not to have a ride because it was such a nice night” - when the incident occurred.

Police reports say it happened around 10pm when the couple were walking along Queens Highway.

They were struck by a grey 2000 Nissan Sunny and both sustained serious injuries. Mr Gandza was pronounced dead at the scene while Mrs Gandza succumbed to her injuries at the local clinic later that night.

The driver of the Nissan sustained minor injuries and is assisting police with their investigations.

A team of officers from the New Providence Traffic Division flew to Exuma yesterday morning to help officers with their investigation, police say.

“Mrs Gandza was a big supporter of Operation Potcake. She came and was a volunteer for two straight weeks. She was a lovely, lovely person.

“She was just an angel of a woman and he was the nicest guy,” Mrs Aranha said.

“They were in love and it was incredible to see them together.

“They were a wonderful couple, they were wonderful people. They were just super people.

“It’s a great tragedy,” she added. “I am broken-hearted. The whole Humane Society is broken-hearted.”

Mrs Aranha said the couple leaves behind a 19-year-old son named Greg, who lives in Canada.

The Canadian Royal Potcake Rescue organisation posted a link to reports of the death on its Facebook page saying it had set up a memorial fund in the couple’s name.