‘I love dogs, but humans first’

LIHUE — The Kauai County Council heard testimony Wednesday on the latest proposed law regarding barking dogs.

Resident Lisa Kerman said she supported the proposal. She said she has been dealing with barking dogs in her neighborhood for more than a year and there have been nights the barking has gone on for five hours, often past midnight. During days, she can’t relax on her porch because of the excessive barking.

The situation reached a point this summer when, despite the heat and humidity, she was forced to close her windows and doors so she could have some quiet. The dogs, which live down in a valley from her, sometimes get every dog in the neighborhood to bark, too.

She contacted the owners of the dogs and offered suggestions to keep the barking down. Their response? It was her problem, Kerman said. She said there are people being affected by barking dogs and, without a law on the books, there is nothing they can do about it.

“I’m here to beg you to implement some bill so we have recourse,” she said.

Resident Bruce Hart agreed. He said there is a need for some sort of ordinance to address the issue.

“The problem isn’t going away,” he said.

Likewise for Alice Parker.

“I’m so glad there’s a barking dog ordinance being proposed,” she said.

A dog lives about a block from her home and barked one night for an hour and half.

“I love dogs, but humans first,” Parker said.

The latest draft bill introduced by Councilman KipuKai Kuali’i mirrors the previous ordinance that was repealed in August, but this time around, more complainants would be needed on the same dog owner before a ticket could be issued.

Under the old rule, only one person needed to complain about an excessively loud dog to warrant a ticket. The new rule could require at least two people from two different households in the area to file the complaint.

Resident Matt Bernabe said while he commended Kuali’i for proposing the ordinance, there was a flaw.

“It’s virtually impossible to prove the dog was not provoked,” he said.

Bernabe said he trains his dogs to bark “at everything that looks at my garage,” and they provide security for his property. He said a law targeting dogs was not the solution to restrict noise.

Instead, he said a “realistic” comprehensive noise ordinance was needed. Cows, cars, rodeos and roosters generate a lot of racket, too, he said.

“Where does this stop?” he said.

Hart said a comprehensive noise ordinance could be effective.

“Every type of noise that became a nuisance noise would be addressed by this law,” he said. “If that gets passed, hallelujah.”

Kapaa resident Glenn Mickens questioned who was going to enforce the ordinance — the Kauai Humane Society or the police. KHS doesn’t routinely have staff on duty at night, and police officers are usually busy with other calls and general patrol responsibilities.

“There’s not enough cops to be able to enforce these things,” he said.

Councilman Ross Kagawa said he spoke with Maui prosecutor John Kim regarding that island’s laws regarding barking dogs. It has seen about an 80 percent success rate in prosecuting cases.

On Kauai, three citations for dog barking that wound up in court all lost.

The difference is, on Maui, an animal control officer will verify the legitimacy of the report and warn an owner before issuing a citation.

“That’s how they had their success,” he said.

On Kauai, a piece of paper from a neighbor stating a dog was barking excessively for a certain amount of time won’t hold up in court, he said. But if KHS or police could verify the complaint and talk to the dog owner before a ticket was issued, Kagawa said they might have more success if the case went to court.

The council heard the first reading of the bill Wednesday.