LIHUE — Bite behind the bark.
The Kauai County Council passed a bill to assist pet owners whose dogs bark excessively, but also penalize those whose dogs become a continual nuisance.
The council passed the bill 5-1 last week after it took up the topic in December saying something needed to be done on the noisy issue.
“The bill before us strikes a balance between giving a remedy to households, where neighboring dogs are barking incessantly for no good reason and residents are unable to enjoy the peace and quiet of their own homes, and protecting dog owners against unreasonable or baseless complaints,” said Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, who introduced the bill. “I hope that as we work with the bill and see how it works, we will prove the fears wrong.”
Councilman Ross Kagawa cast the dissenting vote against the bill. He said he did not believe it would solve the problem, rather create tensions between neighbors.
The bill defines excessive barking as dog noises made intermittently for 20 minutes within a 30-minute time period, or continuously or incessantly for 10 minutes “to the disturbance of any person at any time of day or night,” regardless of whether the dog is on private property.
Kauai Humane Society Executive Director Penny Cistaro said the organization will ask complainants to speak with the dog owner after the first complaint and encourage the complainants to maintain a log documenting future excessive barking.
If a formal complaint is filed, the nonprofit will then send a nuisance letter, along with educational material, to the dog owner, notifying him or her about the problem and giving them 15 days to improve the barking.
If the dog owner or owners fail to correct it, the proposed law calls for fines starting at $35.
A dog, however, will not be deemed a nuisance under the proposed law, if a person is trespassing or threatening to trespass on the dog’s property or if the dog was teased or provoked.
The new law will become effective when it is signed by Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
