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Dogs likely to remain
on beaches

East Oahu residents have
complained about loose dogs


By Pat Gee
pgee@starbulletin.com

Despite complaints in Kailua and Kahala, it doesn't appear that much can be done to keep dogs off Oahu beaches, city and state officials said.

City & County of Honolulu

City spokeswoman Carol Costa said dogs are not permitted at any city-run beach parks, but the city's jurisdiction ends at the high-water mark of the beach itself. Below this mark (toward the ocean), the beach falls under state law, which allows dogs on the beach and on state-run parks as long as they are leashed.

The solution lies in "accountability on behalf of pet owners," Costa said.

"I don't think we can expect our police to spend a good portion of their time" monitoring the pet owners, she said.

Dr. Alex Roth, who likes to run at Waialae Beach Park, complains that he has to dodge dogs and droppings during his morning exercise. Recently, a dog got tangled in his legs, and Roth took a tumble.

Gary Moniz, chief of the state's Division of Conservation & Resources Enforcement under the Department of Land & Natural Resources, said the problem of unleashed dogs on beaches is a chronic one that "occurs on just about every beach."

Complaints are usually "few and far between" when dog owners comply with the leash law, he said. But owners get lax when the state does not monitor a beach as heavily, and his division has a lot of other problems to respond to besides dogs on the loose, Moniz said.

The city has a contract with the Hawaiian Humane Society to pick up loose dogs everywhere, but the laws are difficult to enforce because the violation must be witnessed and there is not enough manpower to monitor the parks, according to Linda Haller, a supervisor at the Humane Society.

Dog owners are fined $50 for allowing their pet to go unleashed.

Roth, a longtime member of the Kahala Community Association, hoped the Waialae-Kahala Neighborhood Board would do something about the problem about two years ago when he brought the matter to its attention.

His main concern was the safety of children, who were often frightened or jumped on by dogs.

The board said it would form a Coalition of Concerned Dog Guardians to urge other dog owners to keep their animals leashed, but the coalition never really got off the ground.

Neighborhood board Chairman Richard Turbin said his group has not received a complaint in more than a year, but he has heard that dogs do run loose in the early morning hours. The dog coalition has not been very active, he said.



City & County of Honolulu


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