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The increase in dog bites on Oahu is sparking concern and legislative action

The increase in dog bites on Oahu is sparking concern and legislative action

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Honolulu EMS is reporting a staggering increase in the number of dog bites on Oahu.

Data shows the number of emergency calls for people being attacked has increased by almost 20% in the past year.

The Hawaiian Humane Society says laws regarding dangerous dogs have historically been extremely lenient, making it difficult to effectively address the problem. A new law, Act 224, gives the police more enforcement powers, but parts of this legislation will not come into force until next July.

Reports of loose, aggressive dogs are common on bike paths, sidewalks and in parks throughout Oahu.

MORE: HNN investigates

For the past three years, Reggie Totor has spent most mornings at Halawa District Park.

“I come about six days a week,” he said. “I like running on the grass. It’s much easier on my legs.”

Totor told HNN Investigates that the problem of loose dogs has been a problem at the park since the beginning, adding that many of the released animals appeared to belong to homeless people camping nearby.

He said: “When they came up to me, the person would often say, ‘Hey, hey, hey.’ Then they would stop.”

But that didn’t happen on August 19th.

He says the campers were gone that day – they had been forced out during a homeless eviction.

Totor said, “I was just minding my own business, which was running. Suddenly I hear the barking. But they were already running quickly towards me. Medium sized dogs. There was a dominant who led the pack.”

But this time there was no one to control the three aggressive animals.

Totor was surrounded.

“I said OK. Here we go again. I’ll ignore them. I won’t be afraid. I’m not going to panic,” he said. “Suddenly I just felt it. And I fucking think so! And I looked down and I just saw the blood.”

The pack leader had sunk his teeth into the left side of Totor’s knee.

“I went to the emergency room. Pali Momi,” he said.

It took a month for the wound to heal.

Totor later found out that one of his friends was also attacked by the same pack of dogs in the park that afternoon.

“I heard he had to fend off the dominant,” Totor said.

According to EMS officials, Honolulu EMS responded to 300 calls about possible dog bites between September 13, 2023 and September 13, 2024. That’s almost 20% more than last year, when medics responded to 256 calls.

“On average, our teams experience a dog bite every few days. But in the last few weeks, some days we’ve actually seen two or three a day,” said Jim Ireland, director of the Department of Emergency Services.

On September 8th there was a horrific dog attack in Aala Park that almost left a woman dead.

“It literally happened here (at the park restroom),” Ireland said. “It was terrible abuse.”

According to law enforcement, a passerby was also injured when he tried to pull the dog away from the woman.

The Hawaiian Humane Society confirms the animal was captured and humanely euthanized. Meanwhile, HPD says the dog’s owner was never identified.

“Not all dog bites involved homeless people’s dogs,” Ireland said. “But we’re seeing more and more homeless populations or homeless people have pets or dogs that are involved in biting someone else.”

HNN Investigates asked both the Blangiardi administration and the Honolulu Police Department what they are doing to keep the public safe.

In a statement, a city spokesperson said:

“The Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation works with the Honolulu Police Department to enforce park rules, including responding to reports of dangerous dogs on the loose.

In ‘A’ala Park specifically, there is an area for released dogs, so the presence of animals in the park is to be expected. A dog’s kahu is responsible for maintaining control of his animal and bears the consequences if that animal attacks another person or animal.

We are working with the Hawaiian Humane Society to make our parks more hospitable to off-leash dogs and to increase the number of off-leash areas. At the same time, we would like to emphasize the need to control and clean your pets.

We believe these incidents of Pet-Kahus not controlling their animals are not representative of the larger Pet-Kahus community.”

HPD told HNN Investigates that it is also working with the Humane Society and is advising the public to be vigilant and call 911 to report loose, dangerous dogs.

HNN Investigates also learned that lawmakers passed ACT 224 last legislative session.

According to the Hawaiian Humane Society, negligent failure to control a dangerous dog is classified as a felony, and a bite that maims or kills a person is punishable as a felony.

It also sets rules for the confiscation of dangerous dogs.

We also confirmed that the Hawaiian Humane Society’s Pet Kokua Outreach team often works with people in the unhoused community to provide free spay and neuter services to help curb pet overpopulation.

Totor says he has become increasingly aware of the potential danger since the attack.

“I only have this stick,” he said.

This way he can protect himself from dogs running loose in the park.

“It gives me distance to keep them away,” Totor said.

Humane Society officials also stress the importance of calling 911 if you encounter loose, aggressive dogs, saying these reports are critical to assessing problems in specific areas.

Callers are asked to provide details such as the exact location, number of dogs and whether there are any suspected owners sightings in the area.

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