They can be man’s best friend, but to his neighbors a constantly barking dog can be their worst nightmare. A Puhi resident has been so disturbed by a neighbor’s barking dog that she decided to start an online support group.
They can be man’s best friend, but to his neighbors a constantly barking dog can be their worst nightmare.
A Puhi resident has been so disturbed by a neighbor’s barking dog that she decided to start an online support group. She was “blown away” by what she discovered.
“Not only am I not alone, but my situation is not half as bad as some of the other people,” said Michelle Williams, who has lived all over the island in the last 35 years and has never faced such problems before.
Williams said the incessant barking from her neighbor’s dog has made her a different person.
“It changes who you are. It makes you just as neurotic as the dogs that are barking,” she said, adding that through the support group she found out there are a lot of people taking anxiety medication to deal with the island-wide issue.
Williams said she approached her neighbor three times, but the response was always the same. “It’s been nothing but yelling and screaming at me.”
She called the police a couple times, especially when her neighbor came into her yard and was kicking her plants. But Wiliams was dumbfounded when she heard from the police officer: “You know this could make it much worse; I’m just warning you.”
Williams said she will eventually try to sell her home, but is concerned because the dog nuisance will have to be disclosed.
Support group
Liz, a Lawa‘i resident who met Williams through the support group, has experienced her share of the problem. One of her neighbors owns bull mastiffs, which are fairly large dogs.
She asked to be identified only by her middle name because she will be selling her home soon and is similarly concerned about the disclosure impact.
“We don’t want anything to come up when the house is for sale that would have to be disclosed,” Liz said.
She said it is her understanding that the disclosure of barking dogs is only necessary if asked.
“They bark 24/7; it’s a bark that goes right through you,” she said, adding that the only way to sleep at night is to have medication.
“This isn’t the kind of lifestyle we’re used to and I don’t intend to put up with it for the rest of my life,” Liz said.
Another neighbor was also afraid to identify herself for fear of retribution. She said the problem got so bad that 10 couples organized a meeting in her house to find a solution.
“The more we complained, the more he would act though,” she said of the troublesome dog’s owner. She noted that he put a sign in front of his house which said: “Never mind the dogs. Be aware of the owner.”
“It’s so hard to sleep,” she said.
Her solution was to take sleeping pills. But the problem wasn’t just the noise.
The dogs’ feces are cleaned up by shooting water and after many years the smell has become unbearable, she said.
Health hazard
Williams said the smell of dog feces coming from her neighbor in Puhi can also be pretty bad, to the point that it forced the tenants on the other side of her neighbor’s property to move out.
The state Department of Health says animal waste is a source of pests and disease. Contact with feces laying in the yard and flies that landed in it can spread many diseases, including leptospirosis, campylobacteriosis, salmonelloeis and toxoplasmosis.
The DOH rates it a moderate health risk if pet waste is left to decompose on grass or soil. The risk becomes high if it is left on paved surfaces, concentrated in the pen or yard areas, or dumped down a storm drain or into a ditch.
County laws
State lawmakers this year tried to pass legislation stating that “each county shall authorize the contracted society or organization to serve as the sole entity to investigate complaints of nuisance dog barking.”
The bill didn’t make it to a floor vote, but Kaua‘i Humane Society Executive Director Dr. Becky Rhoades said it wouldn’t have meant anything.
“We already have the authorization,” she said.
What Kaua‘i doesn’t have is a dog nuisance law, something every other county in the state already has, according to Rhoades.
Back in 2002 the Kaua‘i County Council introduced a bill requiring owners to keep dogs from barking excessively. The bill ended up attracting more opposing testimony and did not pass.
Rhoades said the best way a dog nuisance law would work would be allowing two different neighbors to come forward and sign an affidavit saying a barking dog is disturbing.
In the way the bill was written, if two different neighbors would be willing to come forward, Rhoades said, then a citation could be issued and they would go to court.
Solutions
KHS officers respond to complaints “everyday, everyday, everyday, everyday,” Rhoades said.
Despite the lack of a county ordinance regulating dog nuisance, Rhoades said many times the solution can be simple.
“People are neighbors and if they’re going to live next to each other, they need to talk to each other,” Rhoades said.
“The key is neighbors need to get involved,” Rhoades said. “If three or four neighbors talk to the owner, that might resolve the problem.”
A lot of people solve the problem and many don’t even realize their dog was a nuisance, she said.
Some of the solutions include a shock collar and a collar that sprays citronella when the dog barks. Rhoades said the citronella collar works well and is available for trial and sale at the KHS facility in Puhi.
Another solution that has worked for hunters, who usually own many dogs, is installing a sprinkler system that hoses the dogs when they bark.
Some owners opt not to keep their dogs, surrendering them to KHS.
“That’s really not what we want,” said Rhoades, adding that the goal is to help owners figure out how to teach their dogs not to bark.
If a dog owner is not willing to cooperate, the law would come into play. But Rhoades said KHS will never have enough staff to enforce the law and doubts police would be able to either.
KHS encourages neighbors to go to a mediator first. If that fails, then KHS encourages them to contact an attorney and sue the dog owner in civil court for causing a health issue.
Noise pollution
The state DOH says noise is a public health issue and a serious pollutant.
Although hearing loss is a measurable health hazard, the DOH says noise is also linked to other psychological problems.
“Noise annoys, awakens, angers and frustrates people. The numerous effects of noise combine to detract from the quality of people’s lives and the environment,” states the DOH Noise Reference Manual, Kaua‘i edition. “Who are you going to call when the noise gets too loud?”
The manual says noise is “unwanted sound.” If a noise occurs on weekends or at night, the Kaua‘i Police Department Central Dispatch should be called at 241-1711.
The KPD officer will make a “subjective” determination on the noise problem, the manual states.
Liz, her neighbor and Williams, however, each said calling the police has failed to resolve the issue for them.
“There are many of us that are just at the end of our rope with this situation,” Liz said.
Contact Williams at barkingdogskauai@gmail.com to join the support group.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com.
