JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Sara Caires, left, smiled as her puppy Gaia sniffed at a passer-by as friend and fellow dog owner Angeline Grable, right, kept her dog Oliver leashed during a visit yesterday to the Ka Iwi Shoreline Park that leads to Makapuu Point. Until recently, pets were allowed along the trails provided the animals were leashed, but the City and County has changed that rule and now prohibits pets completely. The Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board will meet today to discuss the issue.

Dog lovers unleash on rule

No pets allowed: Hearing set on Makapuu Trail

"I think it's kind of ridiculous," said Sara Caires, 25, of Waimanalo, who was walking her 5 1/2 -month old pup, Gaia, a terrier-Labrador-chow mix, and did not notice the new signs forbidding pets at the Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline Park.

"It's an outdoor public hike and it should be for everyone. They already regulate so many places, it just seems kind of unfair to lock down another spot," she said.

Dog walkers who object to the new rule as well as those opposed to permitting pets in the Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline Park, which includes the Makapuu Lighthouse trail, may testify at the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board meeting, which begins at 7 tonight at the Hahaione Elementary School cafeteria.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Sara Caires, right, walked her puppy Gaia yesterday and fellow dog owner Angeline Grable, left, and her dog Oliver enjoyed the Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline Park that leads to Makapuu Point. The state, acting on complaints, has closed the trail to pets.

But after receiving calls from community members who want to reinstate the original rule that allows dog owners to walk their pets if leashed, DLNR officials are willing to work with the community, Ward said.

DLNR officials want to hear the public's suggestions, Ward said. "We're looking for creative ideas that will help protect the wilderness quality of the park as well as allow for the shared use of the trail."

Waimanalo resident Angeline Grable, 23, who was walking Oliver, a 4 1/2 -month-old Siberian husky, said she found the restriction unfair. "Why don't they have signs saying no dogs allowed? Why is there a difference between this and Maunawili?"

A visiting Southern California couple said they wouldn't mind sharing the trail with dogs.

"People take their dogs all over the place," said Amy Abbascia, 24 of Huntington Beach.

Her fiance, Steve Gordon, 23, added, "Especially if they're conscientious and pick up after their dogs."

Abbascia's sister Rachel, 26, of Kailua, said she is getting a Labradoodle puppy in a few weeks and had planned to bring the pup along the trail.

"I think it would be OK if the owners are conscious of their dogs and pick up after them," she said. "I don't see why dogs shouldn't be on the trail."

But not all dog owners were upset.

Nina Eejima of Hawaii Kai, who was exercising along the paved path without her poi dog, said: "My workout's not attached to my dog." She walks her dog in her neighborhood.

"I'm fine with it," she said. "There are plenty of other places to take your dog."