Homeowner unleashes over front-lawn poop problem
Pet owners in Hawaii are supposed to scoop their animal’s poop or else face a $500 fine. But
By Cynthia Yip
Click here for updates on this story
HONOLULU (KITV) — Pet owners in Hawaii are supposed to scoop their animal’s poop, or else face a $500 fine. The state law hopes to prevent pet owners from leaving poop on sidewalks and in public parks.
Unfortunately, some homeowners are still seeing the waste on their lawns fronting their homes — and they are upset about it.
An anonymous homeowner tells KITV4, “I’m just very disappointed. I’m shocked. I’m overwhelmed with frustration. And it just befuddles me that people think they don’t have any regard to community space.”
This homeowner says for 2 years she has been dealing with pet owners leaving their animals’ feces in a lawn area in front of house. City law says this piece of public property is supposed to be maintained by the homeowner so about 2 weeks ago – the resident put up a sign asking pet owners to pick up their animals’ waste. But since then, poop keeps piling up.
Terri Peck regularly walks her dog Rocko in this neighborhood. Terri Peck, Dog Lover says, “When you feed your dog good food, you need to pick up after your dog too. And that’s just part of owning a dog. We wouldn’t do that with children. We wouldn’t let them loose and do things on the sidewalk — we’d have a diaper for them.”
David Choo makes sure he always has extra bags for his 2 cockapoos. “I always make sure I have 2 or 3 in my pocket before I go – these dogs tend to go a couple of times on nice long walks. “
Pet waste is not only a nuisance, the CDC say it’s also a source of pollution that can create bacteria and cause serious illness. A neighbor says a family friend got a bad infection from feces.
Dan Boone says his friend had “some kind of a nasty bug or something in her feet from dog feces on a beach that was really hard to get rid of.”
But how can the current laws that prohibit littering and leaving of animal waste on a private or public property be enforced? It is a challenge for law enforcement and lawmakers.
The Honolulu Police Department says if an officer sees the violation, the pet owner could be cited and face a penalty of up to $500.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
