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+--- Thread: Barking Dogs (/showthread.php?tid=761)
Barking Dogs - Kelena - 11-30-2006
An article (link below) in today's Tribune-Herald says that a new law on barking dogs and loose animals is advancing toward passage. Puna resident John Carroll spoke in favor of it, article says. Inexplicably, the prosecutor and the police seems to be ambivalent to or against this law. The prosecutor appears to be arguing that the law is too vague (when is barking "unreasonable"
. Seems like a pretty easy law to draft to me (thousands of models across the country -- grab one) and from what I hear, the problem really does need to be addressed.I have a dog with a voice. I let him outside, he hears coyotes. If they are close, he barks, I bring him back in and shut the doggy door. My dog never barks for more than a minute without my hauling him back inside. I am a good doggy neighbor. I let him exercise his vocal chords and exert his territoriality (bark, bark) but only for short periods, and never late at night.
Any intractable barking dog problems in your neighborhood? Is it every single neighborhood? Bad in HPP? Where does poor John live?
http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2006/11/30/local_news/local01.txt
RE: Barking Dogs - Carey - 11-30-2006
Glen, There is no one spot, subdivision, area that has this problem. It is widespread (even neighborhoods in Kailua and Hilo have problems) and is usually one or two neighbors in an area that have the created the worst case scenerios. There are some people that breed & train pit animals, some have guard dogs around their yard & many others have an assortment of 'hunting dogs'. These owners are not as likely to ever bring their dogs in (as many of these are not 'pet' dogs). There are also populations of loose feral dogs, some were hunting dogs that didn't come back. Many of the remote (and some not-so remote) streets in subdivisions do have dog packs.
These are the main problems for the barking dog problems. We are fairly lucky in our area of Keaau town not to have much of a dog barking problem (except for when the fire truck & 1 particular helicopter passes, then it sounds like a pound, so I know there are enough dogs that could pose a problem).
This is one of the reasons it is so important to try to be able to find out as much about where you are looking. A few streets, even blocks away from a noisy, smelly problem area could be an area that is a slice of paradise.
Aloha, Carey
Edited by - Carey on 11/30/2006 10:48:20
RE: Barking Dogs - Kapohocat - 11-30-2006
We ran into the opposite problem on Sunday. My friend visited with her dogs. They were on leases, on our gated lanai, and every time a dog would bark (two small 20 lb dogs) or someone walked by yard her big 80 lb dogs barked. This was at 7 PM... the neighbor came and yelled at us... my live in redneck told her where the cow ate the cabbage.... and we were threatened with police being called to report dog barking. Did I mention it was 7 Pm and a one time event (not our dogs and they dont usually visit with her.) We have never said a word when her or the other neighbor's little yappy dogs barks.
I see the potential for this law to be abused by the neighbor who yaps the loudest at the police...
So is one big WOOF equal to 10 min of yappiness? it seemed like in this case "size did matter".
RE: Barking Dogs - Kelena - 11-30-2006
Hey Cat, Carey,
I think it is unreasonable complain if you live next door to someone and the barking is not an every day occurrence, but is instead situational -- you have a friend over with dogs.
Yes, any of these laws can be abused. You really can't legislate good neighbors. One of the places that I look at in Puna was absolutely perfect for me: Hawaiiana house, huge lanai, plenty of fruit trees, lots of ventilation. But I just couldn't make the offer because right next door was a residential junk yard. Nothing I could do about that....except drown my sorrows in Lilikoi Margaritas.
Woof!
RE: Barking Dogs - David M - 11-30-2006
Just another step in the gentrification of BI - IMHO
I think it would be interesting to see who really wants this law and it consequences.
I have a neighbor's dog that barks when left alone at home - I'd never call the cops though. My own 2 dogs think they have morphed into watchdogs since moving to BI - alerting at every vehicle that enters our property.
There are times the cows moo incessantly, should I call HPD? Oh wait, my neighbor, the HPD officer, is their owner.
(Some people ought not leave the city from whence they bolted IMHO.
David
Ninole Resident
RE: Barking Dogs - Hotzcatz - 12-01-2006
I don't think a new law is going to solve the problem. It is a bandaid at best and more of a statement on our society than a cure. We are increasingly a society that lives by specific laws instead of living by what's best for everyone and with tolerance for all else.
Didn't the mayor tell the folks working with him once something about "do what is right and then follow the law"?
RE: Barking Dogs - HiloHaole - 12-01-2006
Sometimes laws are enacted because people don't do the right thing like they did years ago. People used to stop their dogs from barking unless a good reason for them to bark existed. Some people want their dogs to bark at anything and everything for a feeling of safety, regardless of the neighbors. Some of the dogs bark out of boredom. People in HPP chain a dog near the driveway entrance and chain another dog near the house. The types of dogs usually are the kind that likes to play with other dogs but the owners don't allow any interaction between the two. Also, the owners hardly ever play and pet the dogs.
RE: Barking Dogs - jdirgo - 12-01-2006
I have an older Golden Retriever that sometimes lets out the random "woof" for absolutely no reason. The only other times my dogs bark is when they see the neighbors cat (almost 3 years in this house -- you'd think they'd get over the neighbors cat, but "no"
.It is a random thing, there's lots of places where you never hear a dog and others where they seem to bark constantly. Just the other day, I stopped to put out flyers at a house I have listed, and the owners dogs barked constantly at me, all the while wagging their tails and offering me their toys to toss and play fetch. Go figure.
John Dirgo, RA, ABR, e-PRO
Island Trust Properties, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com
RE: Barking Dogs - Kelena - 12-01-2006
I'll go out on a limb here. In my mind, the following are all KAPU: 1) Loose dogs that are permitted to form packs, and who may cause harm to other dogs that are passing by, or to people (I have had thousand in vet bills in California over this very issue), 2) Dogs that keep people awake at night because their owners do nothing (this occurs in subdivisions in California as well as in Puna and so the idea that some people just shouldn't come to Hawaii because there are mooing cows and barking dogs is off the mark), 3) Dogs that are chained for any reason other than their own safety, while their owners are away. This is definetely a cultural issue. I do not support that aspect of the culture.
I do think that the solution to ANY problem should start with neighborliness. However, one thing is clear to me from my short visit to Puna: there are very important cultural differences regarding the treatment of animals. You cannot rely on your neighbor to keep a dog in such a way that the dog isn't suffering, barking or both. Thus the law.
A quiet night's sleep has nothing to do with gentrification. I imagine it to be a universal human desire, except among teenagers and certain young adults (louder the better).
My downslope neighbor here has a dog he keeps on a chain. Mercifully, the dog does not bark at night, but he is a very unhappy dog. It tears me up to think of him. So, this problem is not unique to Hawaii. However, in choosing a place in Paradise, I wish to be careful. And before I get there --and after I get there, if I do-- I will bring some of my cultural norms with me: A belief responsible pet ownership and a disgust for cruelty to animals.
Wave me off if I am headed for a huge disappointment!You'd be doing me a favor.
RE: Barking Dogs - JonP - 12-01-2006
I think the matter of barking dogs is probably too slippery of a slope to even begin to navigate. However, the issue of loose dogs is, I think, something that needs to be addressed. Owners should be fined for unleashed dogs instead of the laissez faire response one gets from Animal Control as it is now.
JMHO
Jon