Man who abused dogs
to spend 40 days in jailThe Kauai man also must pay
a fine and do community service
LIHUE >> A Kauai man who pleaded no contest to mistreating and abandoning his five dogs has been sentenced to 40 days in jail and assessed $250 in court fees.
Al Kanahele, of Makawele, also was forbidden to own any pets for a year, placed on one year of probation and ordered to serve 300 hours of community service at the Kauai Humane Society, the agency that filed the criminal complaint against him.
The case was the first to be prosecuted since humane society animal control officers were given authority last year by the Kauai District Court to enforce animal cruelty and abandonment laws, said Becky Rhoades, executive director of the Kauai Humane Society.
Following up on a complaint from a neighbor in July, humane society officers went to a house Kanahele had previously rented. When he moved, he left behind the five dogs, which Rhoades said were in "horrific" condition, emaciated, filthy and infested with ticks and mange. One dog had an open wound around his neck from a tight chain, according to the humane society.
The dogs were taken to the humane society shelter. After they recovered, three were adopted by new owners. The other two were so aggressive that they had to be euthanized.
Kanahele, who was facing 10 charges, accepted a plea agreement in November and pleaded no contest to two counts of animal cruelty and three counts of animal abandonment. He was sentenced Friday by District Court Judge Gerald Matsunaga.
Kanahele's attorney Erick Moon could not be reached for comment.