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From: Josephine Keliipio (Josephine@poidogs.com] fagl q i <br /> Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2005 10:45 AM ~...1 (I~~~~ L <br /> To: Council Testimony <br /> Cc: Stacy Higa; jarakaki@interpac.net; Gary Safarik; Isbeil,~ rrginia; Bob Jacobson; <br /> apilago@co.hawaii.hi.us; Pete Hoffmann; Dr. Fred FldfsCHufi' <br /> Subject: BILL 4, DRAFT 5 -ANIMAL CONTROL (inadequate public representation and making <br /> crminals out of responsible dog guardians) <br /> Dear Council Members, <br /> As a strong dog advocate and responsible dog guardian, I had no idea that for the last 2 <br /> years there was a task force working on changes to Bill 4. Were there any formal <br /> announcements made about these meetings? If so, how was the public informed? I do <br /> not recall the County announcing this via the newspaper. Also, I just began receiving the <br /> County Newsletter again after somehow being deleted from the emailing list after Peter <br /> Young left and thMere are absolutely no announcements about the upcoming task force <br /> meetings, mainly the one on April il, how come???? So how was a person like me whose <br /> dogs are a big part of my life supposed to have been involved or known or become <br /> involved with these task force meetings???? How??? Also, how are people like me <br /> supposed to participate when these task force meetings are held during work hours? <br /> I understand that Lilian Beaufrere's group, Solutions, has been holding once a year <br /> forums for the past 3 or 4 years now. I attended the first two but somehow,I seemed to <br /> have been eliminated from her mailing list plus you have to pay $25.00 to attend. But <br /> what bothers me, is that the County has allowed this private organization to create a <br /> task force to make changes to the Bill without first notifying the public to see if there are <br /> others who want to join the group. This is very disturbing. <br /> Also, I attended tine Waimea meeting where about 30 hunters showed up. The hunters <br /> were all poorly informed about the bill and they came because of what was said in the <br /> West Hawaii Today (where Dana Simons was quoted as requesting that all households <br /> be limited to 2 dogs). Suddenly it became clear to all of us during the hearing that Lilian <br /> did not have propNer representation from the hunters on the task force. What does that <br /> tell us??? It tells us that although she has been working on this bill for two years, the <br /> bill is being pushed through by a task force that is poorly represented by the public. <br /> Lastly, I was able to speak with Deputy Prosecutor, Mitch Roth this past Wednesday and <br /> Thursday and while I might be wrong about the bill being pushed through by a bunch of <br /> dog haters, the bill is certainly being pushed through by a group that is poorly educated <br /> on dogs in general. Mr. Roth is a prosecutor whose job is to catch human criminals so I <br /> guess I don't blame him for being narrowly focused. He believes that no dog should bark <br /> which is as unrealistic as saying that no baby should cry. Dogs bark for good reasons that <br /> are being ignored by the task force. The bill should be directed toward owners who have <br /> dogs barking in despair or due to neglect. You don't need a timer to know who these <br /> dogs are. But the bill (current and proposed) keeps going after responsible non-criminal <br /> dog guardians like me whose dogs bark from time to time due to human generated <br /> noises. A good example is when the Civil Defense siren goes off once per month a block <br /> away from my home which causes my dogs to howl in unison. Mr. Roth believes that my <br /> <br /> dogs should be silent but he neglects to understand the human generated noise that <br /> <br /> caused them to bark in the first place. If the siren didn't go off, the dogs would not ho I. <br /> 1 Gomm. No. <br /> Ref. To: ~~""--t <br /> a~f. ~,a+,, MAR S 0~5 <br /> <br />