Kokua Line
Kokua Line
HPD averages 200
dog calls each monthQuestion: My neighbors on Uluoa Street are so inconsiderate. They tie their poor dog on a short leash in a front carport and leave. The poor dog howls and barks for hours on end, morning, noon or night. We've called the police many times, but the folks don't answer the door to them. (But the dog is taken in shortly after the police leave). Surely there must be a way to convince these folks that this habit is unacceptable! Sleepless, nervous-wreck neighbors really do need a break from this noise!
Answer: If you want police to follow through, you have to be willing to file a written complaint and meet with an officer.
The Honolulu Police Department took over as sole respondent to barking-dog complaints on Oahu on Aug. 15, after the Hawaiian Humane Society said it could no longer handle that responsibility in the absence of additional city funding.
However, if the dog does not have adequate food, water or shelter, then the owner may be found in violation of the animal cruelty law. In that case you can call the Hawaiian Humane Society at 946-2187, ext. 280, and it will investigate.
Police had been averaging about 200 barking-dog calls a month since they assumed responsibility for answering the nuisance calls, according to HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu. No current figures were available.
In the case of your neighbor, officers went to the house several times and either did not see the dog or did not hear it barking, she said. However, an officer did speak to the owner about your complaint -- which you were willing to file officially.
Kailua police Sgt. Charles Ishimoto explained that in lieu of the humane society response, police are requiring a written complaint. "You cannot make an anonymous complaint" if you wish HPD to follow through, He said.
After meeting with a complainant, a beat officer can check a residence and try to talk to the animal's owner. But a violation has to be witnessed by someone such as the complainant or by an officer, while a citation has to be issued in person to the owner, Ishimoto said.
If the owner cannot immediately be located, the report will be forwarded to a follow-up detail, he said.
Yu added that when you call 911 to report an excessively barking dog, "you will be advised that an officer will be dispatched only if you agree to meet with an officer."
However, you will also be asked if there might be "suspicious circumstances" causing that dog to bark, such as a burglar. In that case an officer would check immediately, anonymous complaint or not, Yu said.
Under the city's revised ordinances, an animal is a nuisance if it makes noise continuously and/or incessantly for 10 minutes or intermittently for 30 minutes. Owners face penalties ranging from a $50 fine for a first offense up to a $1,000 fine and/or 30 days in jail for a third offense within two years.
Auwe
To people who won't abide by the rules. When supermarkets have an express line for nine or whatever number of items, it doesn't mean 18 or 20 of the same kind of item. People try to cheat all the time in the fast lane, and it's not fair. -- Nancy Little
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