A growing number of Kaua’i residents want to make sure Liko, the horse that died in an attack by dogs two months ago near Hanalei, didn’t die in vain. Liko’s Task Force held its first meeting Tuesday at the new
A growing number of Kaua’i residents want to make sure Liko, the horse that died in an attack by dogs two months ago near Hanalei, didn’t die in vain.
Liko’s Task Force held its first meeting Tuesday at the new Kaua’i Humane Society building in Puhi. Approximately 12 citizens listened to the local Humane Society’s director, Rebecca Rhoades, suggest ways to control vicious animals and reduce nuisance complaints.
Rhoades is taking the lead in the drive to pass vicious-dog and nuisance-dog ordinances in Kaua’i County.
“She is very optimistic that we can have ordinances (in place) by the end of the year,” said Nancy Bresnik, a North Shore-area resident.
Bresnik said many of those in attendance Tuesday are plagued by neighbors who own nuisance animals. She mentioned a Princeville woman whose neighbor’s dogs howled for 20 days straight, and another man who lived next door to a drug dealer who was raising pit bulls.
Bresnik herself has dog problems. A neighbor’s dog barks throughout the night, and none of her complaints to the owner or the police have mitigated the problem, she said.
“Quality of life is a big issue on Kaua’i, and we just don’t have a lot of animal control here,” said Rhoades, who before becoming a veterinarian was an animal control officer on Oahu.
“It is so unusual to have dogs attack a horse. That alarmed me,” Rhoades continued, referring to the incident in May in which three pit bulls attacked Liko as it was being ridden on a trail overlooking Hanalei Valley. The rider wasn’t injured, but the dogs drove the horse over a ridge, according to authorities. The horse was later found dead.
The dogs and their owner haven’t been located, despite a police investigation.
Rhoades made it clear she is not talking about euthanization as a way to control animals.
“People need to manage their dogs. The (Kaua’i County) Police Department has been responsible for public safety,” and the Humane Society is “responsible for public safety and animal welfare. We are trying to increase our role in control services,” Rhoades said.
She said vicious dogs aren’t born that way and that the onus for a dog’s behavior is primarily on the owners.
In addition to vicious dogs, Liko’s Task Force members are targeting dogs that create a nuisance by barking. The county Police Commission and the Humane Society have received numerous complaints about dogs that bark too much.
“People live close together here on Kaua’i. There has been a move from rural to suburban. People have tried everything” to silence dogs, including lawsuits and mediation, Rhoades said. “One guy said he was even going to use poison but then just couldn’t do it.”
Rhoades said tnuisance animals could be dealt with by the Humane Society.
“We need to have enforcement powers and we need county support. There are cruelty laws already which we could enforce but we don’t have the authority to do so,” Rhoades noted.
She said dogs that bark virtually all night are often not being treated humanely.
“Dogs need enough room and they need to be clean and dry. That hasn’t been enforced,” she said.
Rhoades, who said she has received the support of County Councilman Gary Hooser and Mayor Maryanne Kusaka, said the Liko-inspired task force needs to be “looking at education” so owners can take better care of their dogs.
Kusaka said she will work with the task force and the council on a dog-control ordinance.
“I’m grateful to the Humane Society for taking the lead on this issue,” Kusaka said. “It certainly needs to be addressed in light of recent events.”
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
