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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0396.004 1998-2000 ' West Hawaii Humane Society P.O. Box 2695 • Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745 • (608) 329-2051 • Fax: 329-6721 w ~ QKElVED To -Finance Committee August 22, 1999 _ :f/ BX•----•-..-~ from -Ginger Towle~n-fty(j6ou~n-cif ~.~.~__s:._,.. Subject -Resolution regarding animal control in Hawaii County The County Animal Control Contract is for animal control. However, Hawaii Island Humane Society's activity reports leave a lot to be desired. There are fines for dogs straying, $25.00 for the first offense, $50.00 for the second offense, $75.00 for the third offense and then on to court. All dogs are supposed to be licensed, $25.00 fine for noncompliance. If a dog ends up in the shelter it would seem to indicate that it had strayed. The activity report for Oct./Dec. 96 showed 151 dogs redeemed by their owners and only 11 citations given for straying and only 4 citations for no license, Oct./Dec.98 shows 186 dogs redeemed yet only 8 citations were given for straying and 1 for no license. January/March 99 there wece•162 dogs redeemed and only 10 citations for straying issued and 1 citation for no license. April/June 99 there were 169 dogs redeemed with 9 citations for straying and 8 citations issued for no license. The attached reports tell the story most succinctly. We have no animal control!! When Duane Mendosa gave testimony at the Finance Committee recently he demonstrated quite clearly that he didn't even know the law on straying dogs, commenting that the law was very vague and needed rewriting. Dominic Yagong read the existing laws, which clearly showed there is no need for rewriting, just enforcing. Animal control officers are the police of the animal world. Working with the public so they better understand the laws is part of their job, however, so is giving citations. Hawaii Island Humane Society management does not have the authority to decide not to give citations, or to ignore the laws regarding the requirements to license a dog. You need to show proof that the animal was spayed or neutered before you can be issued a license. At present you can send in $2.00 for a license when you purchase aspay/neuter slip. Then there is the ongoing debate about the use of sodium pentobarbital without a vet on staff. The funds paid to the humane society are for the Animal Control Contract and are supposed to be used for Q the animal control program. The money is not paid for an administrator to handle Humane Society Q J programs. Those programs, party's etc. should be done by their board and or volunteer staff. We need ~ ~ eM more officers on the road and less people in the office. In this small of an organization we need an ~ ~ executive director and animal control manager that can also go out on calls. This sit in the office and command started with Shawn Nakoa and then Lisa Fowler. I understand that Lisa Fowler added an d administrative assistant and the treasurer is now full time plus a part time paid volunteer chairman. JudygZ Z ~ Knight was a volunteer in that position. Pat Gorman was a working manager and answered calls day or g night. This is too large an area and has too few officers to answer the calls even if everyone were trained CCf333 to go out on calls. ~~ted Comm. IJc. 396. 0 O~ I understand that there were 80 applicants for the executive director's job when Lisa Fowler was hired, a veterinarian applied and was not even interviewed. Lisa Fowler has abusiness/real-estate background and was on the board of directors of the Honolulu Humane Society. The Animal Control Manager, Philip Hema was a hotel concierge, there is no one in Kona with any animal control background. According to the last contract Harry Takahashi, County Finance Director and the Hawaii Island Humane Society Board of Directors are responsible for ensuring that the staff is qualifed to do the job!! They are ultimately responsible for the job that is being dune! They have ignored this responsibility. So if you have an animal control problem, don't call the police, call Harry Takahashi. The lack of proper animal control has impacted the police department who is already short handed. Police should not have to handle routine animal complaints. Hawaii Island Humane Society purports to supporting animal welfare laws, not so. A few months ago same revisions were brought forward that had been reviewed and presented by Fred Giannin, Corporation Counsel. One item was to change the penalty for poisoning a dog from $10.00 to moving it under the Cruelty to Animals statute, another was to fine anyone not spaying or neutering a dog or cat purchased from the humane society. Another ordinance would give the humane society the authority to pick up any dog declared vicious if the owner did not have a secure kennel. This was really important, as there have been problems with dogs declared vicious going right back out and killing another sheep. Both Shawn Nakoa and Lisa Fowler had signed up to speak, but stood outside the council room and watched while Madeline Barrea and I gave our testimony. Next thing Aaron Chung received a note from them asking for this to be held over so they could evaluate the effect on the humane society. Aaron Chung asked if that was all right with me and I said "yes, of course" and the matter was closed for another day, we thought. Then later we found out that Lisa and Shawn hung around all day and got Jon Ray to bring the amendmentr back up on the agenda about 5:00 P.M. where she did nothing but make fun of and minimized the importance of these changes (you can check the transcripts) and so a very tired Committee shelved the whole thing. Shawn Nakoa, as an attorney and as a past Executive Director of the Hawaii Island Humane Society, and representing the humane society should realize the importance of these amendments to the community as well as making enforcement easier. It clearly demonstrated [hat she and her organization really do not understand their job. Captain Shiroma called the humane society when a woman called the police department and asked for help with some rabbits in her yard. He was told to call the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources. Lifeguards have called Captain Fergerstrum about dogs on the beach, the humane society wouldn't go out and pick them up. You can check with Julie Turlane and Captain Bill Jackson from the Parks Dept. I understand there is a pit bull tied at white sands beach that has bitten 3 people. Vicious dog designations have been reversed if an officer doesn't make it to the hearing, this is not legal and the Hearing rules do not allow such an action. The County could be held liable in the event this same dog bites someone else. An efficient well-run animal control program with qualified staff who understands their responsibilities are vitally important for the safety of our residents and the animal world. Animal control should work hand in hand with the Police Department to keep our County a good place to live. B-~u-e~~ =.-SPLi: _,ih P~. rci: ~_iag EOS~))_:.~ _-tee /J ~ a i~ H,~WAII ISLAND HUMANE SOC1~7`Y MONTHLY 5HELTER ACTiVI'1'Y REPOf~T Nu,~1~E APRIL -JUNE 199'9 SI~C'IE'I'Y KONA _WAIMEA KEAAU TOTAL DOGS CA15 OnllX DOCwS CAPS O1HEN O04S CA75 On1EN DOGS CA7S O1HCR fOTAL_ SUNNENO -H 518 631 73 290 215 1 1150 1371 d4 1,969 2,197 8U 4,245 %EDEFJrED 44 1 0 5 U 0 120 7 2 169 _B 2 179 ADOViFD 98 112 19 25 lb 125 108 22 248 236 4I 52'i EI7INANI7ID 341 518 4 2d0 190 1 909 123b 90 1510 1,953 4J 3508 U7HEfl 5 0 D 0 0 0 2 0 U 7 U 0 7 ADOWION PEflCFlITgGE 19% 18% B3% 9% 7% 0% - 11% B% ,34 ~ 13% 11X, 4/% 12 KONA WAIMI[A KE4AU TUGT~AL DOO LIClvlses: Number Issued 300 ~ , 62 718 Fees Collected f1410.60 ~ f2822D f1,19950 f3,501.3D - _ Calls fOf Plck-u &AsslstanCO 2,27d . 60 1,372 3,708 AKer-hoursEmergenc call-outs 1 13 2 53 MflesTraveled 8742 8,2L'i 18, 35,721 Dead Animals Collected: t4 S 7r, Owner Surrender 256 97 44' 79u Owner Re uest.'d Euthanasia 9 I 2• ~ Com lalnt/Com ly Notices Issued 43 13 2 ~ 2i-1 wzi'^'~ .~w~,- ~;-..~~~~Qy .~'ak"ha" - ~WL ri ~µ1~.~r' U[aUorrs Issued: ~ N 1 " HCC 4-30 Do Runnin Loose 0 0 9 / 1/ HILS 143.2 License Violation 0 0 6 HRS 7-11 -1109 Cruel to Animals 1 0 t ~.~ni~ Other 0 D ~ i 7ota1 t u t ~ Ib YolunteerNours 2,t32 0 2,691 4X23 9 ~ ~ c~ r ~ ~ ~ ~~a~ w ~ ~ ~ i9i'.~+c~ ~ 000!!///KX~~ ? _ / ~ v ~ Post-IP Fax Note~~ "/7677 °at ~ 4, c pe9ds? ~I ~ aC. ,yytv~r-c_ Fray L~Lx<.fsl C/~ Co/De Cu. 'r HAWAII ISLAND h Fhonup Phonep~~,_ a,. i~ MONTHLY SHELTEF F~"" r u?w.n uuuo HUMANE JANUARY TO MARCH 1999 SI~C'Ib"I'Y ~~~KONA ~ ~ WAIMEA KEAAU TOTAL - ~l =1 UTS O1MEA DOGS CATS OTNER DOGS UTS OiHEA OOGS UTS on1ER TOTAL SUflRFl4DEfl 464 309 40 204 81 0 1,147 571 71 1,815 961 REDEEMED 50 4 0 15 3 0 97 b 2 162 13 2 177 M~ ADOPTED 127 78 15 34 17 0 149 74 48 310 174 63 547 '(Q_UL7/!~ - ~ EUiNAN12ED 273 204 5 2I5 67 0 901 486 2i 1,305 757 26 2,172 OTNEfl 3 4 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 9 17 ADOPTION PERCENTAGE 27 Y. 25% 3a% 17% 21% SDIV/01 13% 19% 68% 17% 18% 57% 19% KUNA WAIMEA KEAAU TOTAL j Do Licenses: Number Issued 411 83 52 1 018 Fees Collected (1,743.40 5413.30 fz,2s4.so 54,411.zD Calls for Plck-u 1><Asslstance 460 91 1 1 1,701 After-hours Emer ency call-outs 25 19 24 68 MIIesTraveled 9,722 8,232 19,325 37,279 Dead Anlnlals Collected: 33 D 7 107 Owner Surrender B9 48 15 27U Owner Re nested Euthanasia ID 0 15 ~ 'F (omplelnt/COmpl NOtlces Issued 73 _ 5 240 31D Citations Issued: HCC4-3pDo Runnln Loose 1 0 lU HItS 143.2 License Violation 1 D 1 ' NRS 7-11 - 1109 Cruelty to Animals I O 1 2 _ 0 0 0 Other Total e 0 I 1 Volunteer Hours 1,490 0 2,225 3,715 I Hewalf Island Humane Society - 7a-5~~5 nunPn Keahumenu HwV • Kailua-Kona, NI 96740 •808/329-1175 _ s...-~, HAWAII ISLAND HUMANE SOCIETY MONTHLY SHELTEii ACTIVIT ~ REPORT lal}nuuvt~ OCTOBER TO DECEMBER ]998 % 1 SOLI~"1'Y ~ KO NA WAIMEA KFAAU TOTAL L___ uxs un tiiil[a ours a1s ornrn a`ws~ uis~ orllre CUas_]~cnrs -onicli iolu SURRENOFA 457 4UU 36 28B 265 3 1251 080 66 lUU6 1737 lU5 3834 IIkDEp,lA0 80 5 0 10 O 1 118 1 0 186 6 1 107 ADOPTED 09 80 U 24 12 0 159 93 20 272 109 20 4 EUfWWRED 203 386 6 295 235 fl78 NB8 41 15 i4 ISD7 50 3071 UTIIER 10 B 4 0 0 0 5 D 2 15 8 2U ADOPTION yknCF391AGE 20.57% 10.29% 0.00% 8.33% a.57% 0.00%. 12.31% 0.99% 311.30% 13.tlJ% 11.19% IO.IU% 12.btl% KONA WAIMFJt KFAAU TOTAL Dop ucensr~: - - - - NurnDtlrlssued 54 42 35 047 Fees Collected SLS5B.7o s2us.l9 SI,TeI. sJ,v4,.a, Calls for Pkk-up 81 AssKtance 710 71 1281 1862 ARer-hours Eme enty callrouts lU t3 21 4a Mlles Traveled IO,Oa4 8,289 17,28 35,837 DeadAnlmals[ollecled: 28 11 7 117 / Uwner Surrender WA N/A N/A N/A - ~ Owner nested Euthanasia o 3 3 Complaint/Comply Notices issued 4U 3e 1., 2fU a w::Yyi' 1 e -t y r R.~F r5 _fi ii .A.a, r ~ y..r a~..,,7f. a} ~ ~ „l,8~ Citations Issued:__~ a„ - ..a, .tu~,~. ~ ~ ila ~ :E~c.,' : ~^>u°.r..tLL.~'" s~T'1., HGC 4-30 Do Ruhnln loow 2 a 2 D L,nI~C"', , c~i~:~. NRS1432LkettseVlolatlon 0 0 1 1 .~~1~16~v~Yw'~" HItS 7-11 - t 109 Cruelty to Mlmels o 6 u / Other o D o r. Total 2 4 3 U Volunteer Hours 918.25 WSU 1U80.25 Hawall Kiatld Humane Soclaty 1 79-5225 Quean Keahumanu Hwy • K ua-Kona, NI 08790 • B08/32U-1175 ,`',/J/ G~.1~~ f ~ /~>~o C ~ ~i ~ , e ~ C ~ ~c,~ . HAWAII ISLA D HUMANE GS"OCI~ET r- QUARTERLY SHELTER ACTIVITY REPORT FISCAL YEAR 1996-91 2ND QUARTER (OCT - DEC1 KONA WAIMEA KEAAU TOTAL Dogs i Cars ! Oa»r pogs I cars orfrr pays cars I orlw pogs cars ~ C7iha Torar Surrendered 368 ' 559 10 303 317 5 1.133 963 76 1,804 11,839 91 3,734 edeemed 48 2 0 33 5 3 70 5 151 12 6 16s Adopted 83 77 5 29 30 D 127 103 42 239 210 47 496 Euthanized 236 ~ 475 ~ 4 238 I 277 2 9~2-1-~~---8b-1 30 1,393 1,603 36 3,032 Other 1 5 1 5 5 0 15 I 4 1 21 t4 2 37 Adoption 26°i6 I 14°h ~ 56°~6 11°k ~ 10% 0°k 12°h + il% 58°h 15Yo 72% 57% 14°!° Percentage ~ KONA WAlMEA KEAAU TOTAL pog Licensee: Number Issued 2130 128 490 878 Fees Collected 31,012.40 $812.80 S2,280 90 53,908.10 Galls for Pickup and Assistance 1,331 872 1,916 3,919 After•Houre Emergency Call•Outs 33 22 21 78 Miles Traveled 7,001 5,850 18,813 29,484 Desd Animals Collected. ' ' Dogs 5 7 25 37 Cets 21 9 93 123 ethers 2 2 ~ 1 5 Total 2B 18 119 185 Citations Issued'. Hi;C 4-30 $ 3 0 11 HRS 143.2 1 0 3 4 Torx1 9 3 3 e . ' ~ West Hawaii Humane Society _ P.O. Box 2695 • Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745 • (808) 329-205 • Fax: 329-6721 4' Muy6, 1999 - I checked loduy and Wcse arc Utc charges I lawaii Ishmd Hunwnc Society makzs fur Uteit szrvicus. liuWanizing n dog ur cut $25.00 Pinking up a stray Uog - no charge Trapped cut pick up 55.00 Yick up, owner surrender, Jog or cat $15.U0 TaAmg dcaJ pet to shclltr Uispwing of body cat $ S.UD Uispusiug ol'budy-dug $12.SU West Hawaii Humdtie Society nuvur charged for any of these Services and Las nu intention of ever dying so. These scrviec> urn covered by We cauruet :old Ute tax payers already. June 7, 1999 To -Harry Takahashi From -Ginger Towle On Saturday May 29th I received a call from a lifeguard at Kahaluu Beach. He and the other lifeguards are extremely unhappy because Hawaii Island humane Society will not respond to their calls to remove stray dogs from [he beach. Captain Bill Jackson and Julie Turlane are also aware of the problem. The lifeguards need to concentrate on their work and watch the swimmers. This situation is serious as i[ is distracting them and the dogs pose a hazard to [he people on the beach. It is against the law to have a dog on [he beach. You can check with Captain Fergerstrom of the Kona Police and verify this problem. He was called by the Parks Dept. for help in getting a pit bull off the beach because the humane society refused to go out. Captain Fergerstrom called the humane society and told them to go pick i[ up. However, this call from Captain Fergerstrom hasn't changed [heir policy, they still will not go out. The life guard that called was Jimmy Guerreiro. He said a Hawaii Island Flumane Society Officer told them they can't remove a dog without a police officer being there. Anyone can remove a stray dog from the beach!! You can contact Timmy Guerreiro at the Kahaluu lifeguard station at 322-1799. His home address is 78-6695 Alii Drive, Kailua-Kona, 96740, home phone 322-1488. copies to -Mayor Yamashiro Chief Carvalho Asst. Chief Hickcox Taka Domingo James Arakaki and all Council members Connie Kiriu Fred Giannini 558 Kaumana Drive Hilo, H196720-1813 May 10, 1998 Madelyn R. Barren Executive Director West Hawaii Hutttatu; Society, Inc. P.O.Box 2495 Kailua-Kona, Hi 94745 Dear Ms. Barren: I read with great interest your letter to the editor which appeared in the ttaw~,ji Trib«ne- Ij~ on May 10, 1998. 'The passage which stated that, "There are also other laws pertaining to the owners liability, leash lows, cruelty to animals, places prohibited to aninwls, defecation laws, noisy dog laws and laws periaining to dugs that have been deemed vicious, "really caught my eye. Could you provide me with the appropriate hlawaii County Code section citations for the laws referred to in the preceding passage from yogr letter? I make [his request on the basis of the following considerations. I am anavid ,cyclist who rides a racing bike daily. I've been attacked by dogs who were not leashed, and some of these dogs, in my opinion, easily qualify as vicious. The owners of these dogs seem to be :unused by what seems to me to be a blood sport: attacking people on bikes. The police in East Hawaii Jo not seem to be interested in the problem, and have even told me that there are no laws relative to this type of behavior by dogs which can be enforced. In the second place, about four months ago my wife was told by an employee of the ~-Iumtute Society in Keaau that there is no leash law for the island of 1-lawau. Thirdly, 1 Gve in a neighborhood where people seern to bc;lieve that their dogs hove aGod- givi;n right to bark uuernunably, and the same right to defecate in other people's yd<•Js. If I can larttiliarile myself with the law, I might be able to do somethiug about wli;tl is from my perspective a serious problem Thank you for any assistance which you can give tra;. cerely yours~~~ ~U"'~ /vt ~Ji''~r.~w"l David C. Purcell, Jr. r., 1 May 4, 1998 7;o Whom It May Concern; Cltis loner is in regard to the cwTent aztirrtal control situ:uion in l~:+ilua. Crr my opinion, thurc h none. Afv neighborhood may of may rent be reprasentativa of lha arw; but thurc w'c tar too many Jogs ruruung loose on the su-eels, barking loud and long, chasing vulticlas, and using uvcryone's yard but their own as a toilet. I du nut advocato malting now law,, ordinances or covenants regarding atwttal control. What I em advocating u LNFe.)RCGIv1lNT of the ones which already exist. [ know h'um personal experience and fiom talking to others in the catuuwtity that the pohca do not regard animal control as their department. I have called to complain about oaeua~ivc barking (Uw klnd Wl11G11 GO[1?Un1Wi1 a dILLlUl banJe: Ut IhV paw) and th.: pubes havun'I aeon bothered [o show up. I[ would Sli}il`4 our only other ahutnaliva (i,r enlurcin_a arwual-control laws is the; Hurrtana Society. They ace authorized to cite pat owners li,r violations. and yet stale that it is their policy N01' to go lu an address with a nui,anca dog utiluss they :uv gu:ti antaud by the complaining party that the avnar will bo home evhe n they :,Hive. This makes a bad situation even more ddficrdt, because the complaining party rhea ' has to suntuhow delamtirte who [hu owners are and whathm'they era home al the time of Utc problem. What this means is that the complaining party must cutiliont the owucr (assuntutg he/she c:ut even locate Utem) a risky situation that is likely to create; atunu,sily and possibly retribution on the part of Utu offending party. I'euple wlto allow their dues w become a noigJtborhoud nuisance are very likely to bu umrurtdlul ol; or even arrogant tow:u d, everyone around Utem, and a neighbor's tear of retaliation for a complaint is jwtilied. 'fhe Hunwna Society further refuses to "catch" nuisance dogs or cat.,; laavutg it up to the offended p:uty(s) to trap or catch artd confute the anunal thctrtselvcs. 'phis is askutg too much of the pubhc for MANY raasorts: for gnu, am nut willins to risk uty own safety by approaching a loose dog. E'rom what I've scan of dta behavior of dtu doss ut rely ncigltborhood, they have staked out the strwt as their uni; have chased sus, bikes. moloreyclus, and have barked at me when I was just walking by on Iltu sidewalk. ~Nhu can guarantcc that one oY Ihase dogs would NOT attack rna or anyone aksc iryutg to trap or cutdiw if? Thu dog's owner(s) would almost CEIt'fAINLY" know who cauglu Ih~ir,lu~, and wnrud it in to the Humane Society, and it's reasonable to assume they would bo :\Nc~ltl' .-~s taxpayers, paR of our lax dollar goes to run the hiumanu Society, which is conlracteJ w provide protection to the public by )?NFOI2CGIvIfiN"1' of axistutg artiual control laws. In other words, the public pays the Ilumanc Society to Baal with situations wu'ru nut able to dual with ourselves, such as forcing others to abide by the law, cutltani~ing lcral artintals, catching and cottfirting animals which might be dansuruus, etc. In my opinion, the Humane Society, for whatever masons, is not livutg up to iU end of the conu'acl when it asks the pubhc to do part of its job. I do not wish Io take sides in any ongoing political battle of Humane asencics. I just wain suntcunu lu st:u1 crU'orcing the law. 'The dog owners in my neighborhood kttuw all too wall they can Ict their dogs roarn free and conlutua than' nuisance behavior with uupwuty. 'they know all too well Ihut'c's nothing the rest of us can do about it. 7 ha result? 'fhc quality of lilt m rely neighborhood is disappe:uing ,and those of us who keep our pals quiet anJ wtdur conu'ol feel we have fewer right than those who do cot. Sincerely, Linda Gross Kailas-Kona - S/S/98 To: All Council Members From: Lorie Combs Subject: Animal Control Contract Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Council Members. My name is Lorie Combs and I am a former employee of Hawaii Island Humane Society. I was employed by HIHS from 1992-1997, during which time I was a Humane Officer, Manager and Volunteer Coordinator at their Keaau shelter. Currently I am employed as a Veterinary Technician by I)r. Starrett Gruen, and to my knowledge the staff of the Keaau shelter was never supervised by any veterinarian. ' During my employment at the Keaau shelter, I have seen inhumane treatment of animals and harassment of coworkers was a daily routine. My main concern is that the Humane Society be responsible for HUMANI? animal treatment and control. H1HS is not enforcing all of the animal related regulations and 1 have seen trucks come back to the shelter with trapped strays that have already been euthanized. These animals were not injured or signed over by owners, and according to the law, all strays must be held for a minimum of 48 hours. I have also seen animals euthanized as soon as they came into the shelter, before anyone checked the lost reports. 1 feel that if the island were divided, and the Animal Control Contract for the west side of the island was awarded back to West Hawaii Humane Society, that there would be better control, and I sincerely hope that whoever is in charge of overseeing this contract, makes sure that Hawaii lsland Humane Society starts doing the job righton the east side of the island. If anyone has any questions, I will be happy to answer them. Thank you, Lorie Combs