Schapelle Corby will be forced to leave her dogs Luna and May behind in Bali
WHEN Schapelle Corby leaves Bali in three weeks time at the end of her 15-year sentence, it won’t be all smiles for the convicted drug smuggler.
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WHEN Schapelle Corby leaves Bali in three weeks time she will be saying goodbye to her boyfriend and friends but also to her constant canine companions.
Since being released on parole three years ago she has been shadowed by two family dogs, Luna and Luna’s pup, believed to be called May.
Whenever she goes to the beach to swim, snorkel or sunbake, Luna is never far away on the beach with her.
The two dogs belong to Corby’s sister Mercedes and her family, former husband Wayan Widyartha and their children.
But since Mercedes moved back to the Gold Coast to live, after splitting with Wayan, the two dogs have lived with Schapelle and her brother Michael at their rented Kuta home and Corby is their primary carer.
Corby will leave Bali on May 27 when her 15-year drug smuggling sentence expires, after signing parole for the last time.
She will be deported by Indonesian Immigration authorities and banned from returning for an unknown period of time, but at least six months.
It is understood the two dogs will remain in Bali and probably be taken back by Wayan Widyartha and his family.
In some of her darkest hours, the dogs have provided support for Corby.
When she was in Kerobokan jail, in February 2006, Corby was granted permission to have a small dog in jail with her.
Called Stanley, the dog stayed with Corby in her cell, came to the visiting area with her and helped brighten up both hers and the lives of other prisoners.
But eventually he left the jail.
His presence was not welcomed by other Muslim inmates and he later died.
Then, during some of Corby’s mental illness, Mercedes would bring Luna into the jail for visits with Corby in a bid to help her cope.
Luna later went on to have her own puppy, who also lives with Corby.
Australia’s strict quarantine regulations, coupled with the fact that rabies is rife in street dogs in Bali, mean it is not practical for Luna or her offspring to come back to Australia with Corby.
Authorities in Bali are now planning a series of meetings to iron out the final details of Corby’s release day.
Corby will be required to attend the Parole Board on the morning of May 27 where she will sign her parole book for the final time.
She will be given a letter, saying that she has fulfilled the obligations of her parole and is free to go.
But because she is a convicted drug trafficker she will not be totally free until she gets on a plane and is winging her way back to Australia.
From the Parole Board she will be taken into the custody of Immigration, who will then take over her deportation.
She will be taken to Immigration and have her passport stamped with her ban before being escorted to the airport and onto her plane home.
Originally published as Schapelle Corby will be forced to leave her dogs Luna and May behind in Bali
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