Posted on: Friday, July 26, 2002

Dog owners warned at Kapi'olani

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

Nearly every day, dogs and their owners jog around Kapi'olani Park, play catch inside the park or walk in search of a shady spot to relax.

But dogs, even if they are on a leash, are not allowed inside the park except for one designated area: by the ironwood trees on Diamond Head Road and Kalakaua Avenue. The rest of the 500-acre park is off limits to dogs, according to Eve Holt, Hawaiian Humane Society spokeswoman.

Many owners aren't aware of the rule despite signs that say dogs are not allowed, Holt said.

It's time the rule was enforced, some residents say, citing health and sanitation concerns.

Jan Bappe, a resident of the area for 47 years, noted that while she has nothing against dogs, she doesn't like what they leave behind on the grass in a park that is a recreation and picnicking haven.

"I've complained to everybody for several years," Bappe said. "It bothers me to see the pets do their business and the owners smear it on the grass. I think it's a serious health problem."

Carol Costa, city spokeswoman, said the city has no complaints on record, but Bappe and Michelle Matson, a member of the Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board, said they have have been complaining to the parks department for years.

Police say they enforce the no-dogs rule, but an officer must see a dog in the park before taking any action. And that's the problem, said Lt. Abner DeLima. Most times the dog and the owner are gone by the time police arrive, he said.

Just a couple of blocks away from Kapi'olani is an official off-leash dog park called Bark Park, Holt said. It's on the corner of Diamond Head Road and 18th Avenue, and there is another one at the Humane Society's headquarters on King Street. The Humane Society has been trying to educate the public for years about what areas allow dogs, Holt said.

The city has designated

35 areas, including Kapi'o-lani Park's triangle area by the fountain, as areas where dogs are allowed, but they must be on a leash, according to the Humane Society's Web site listing of parks in which the city allows dogs.

"I think it's an issue of there being so few places where dog owners can take their dogs," Holt said. "We have been working with the city Department of Parks and Recreation to develop dog parks in other areas, but so far there are only two where dogs are allowed off a leash. There's a great demand for dog parks."

Holt said about 37 percent of the households on O'ahu have a dog.

With limited places to take a dog, owners need to be aware of what's allowed and what's not, Bappe said.

One dog owner knew about the rule, but brought his dog to the park anyway.

"Yeah, I guess, I knew that dogs are not allowed in the park," said Adriano Ferraz, a North Shore resident. "If you have to have rules, no dogs is a good one. But there are dogs and then there are dogs."

Walking around Kapi-'olani Park recently, Bappe noticed several people with their dogs. Some were running on the outer perimeter of the park.

One dog was watching children play soccer. Another dog was catching a ball with a group of people. And another was sitting in the shade on a leash while a woman read.

"I can see why the owners want to bring their dogs," Bappe said. "It's a nice area. But rules are rules. And rules are the oil in the gears and they keep things moving."

Steve Knauer, the area's neighborhood board member and a member of the Waikiki Residents Association, takes his three children to the park every day and sees the dogs.

"It's a situation where no one is policing," Knauer said. "Don't owners don't know the dogs can't go in the park. They need to take their dogs to the dog parks."

Reach Suzanne Roig at 395-8831 or sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.