Rural Maui shaken
by killing of dog, 10 pups

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By Gary T. Kubota
Maui correspondent

OLINDA, Maui >> Karen Windman was walking her two dogs with a friend when she suddenly saw a pile of dead animals in the high grass along a Maui rural road between stands of pine trees.

A pit bull and her 10 puppies apparently had been shot one at a time and left for dead.

"Who could do something like this ... and what for?" Windman recalled asking herself. "This is a murderer. There is no doubt in my mind that the person could do anything."

The dog killings have upset many Maui residents, especially those like Windman who live miles upcountry in rural Olinda, where houses are few and people prefer a quiet lifestyle.

The dead animals were found at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday along Kahakapao Road, a route frequently used by pig hunters to access mountains above the Olinda community.

Maui Humane Society officials are investigating the dog killings and seeking the identity of the killer.

Animal cruelty investigator Aimee Anderson said the red-nose pit bull appeared to have been shot three times in the head, and her puppies of mixed breed, shot once in the head.

The puppies were about 5 to 9 weeks old, she said.

Anderson said whoever committed the killings could have turned the dogs over to the Maui Humane Society for free.

Now that individual could face a number of charges, including 11 counts of animal cruelty, with the maximum punishment of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine for each count, Anderson said.

"It's just so unnecessary. The puppies were old enough to be adoptable," she said.

Anderson said the animals appeared to have been shot with a small-arms weapon, perhaps a .22-caliber or .25-caliber, sometime between Saturday and Sunday.

Anderson said the Humane Society is trying to find out if anyone knows of a person who might have had a pit bull dog with a litter of 10 puppies. "We're trying to get some leads," she said.

Windman said she moved to Olinda last year to be in a rural area for a sense of peace and serenity. She said now, every time she drives near the area where the dogs were found, she feels nauseated.

"Now I'm pretty disheartened," she said. "There's a feeling of disgust and disillusionment. It's really pathetic. That is a sick individual."