You often hear folks talk about Niu Valley as that 'beautiful, cozy, 'quiet' little neighborhood tucked in between Aina Haina and Hawaii Kai.  As a resident of Niu Valley, I certainly agree with this vision of our neighborhood.  But as of the past couple of months (April-October, 2011) the 'quiet' part of how people see our neighborhood is being threatened . . . by dogs that belong to residents of Niu Valley.  In particular, there are two houses --one on Mamaki St, the other nearby on Puamamane St.-- that have dogs that bark constantly whenever someone walks their dogs or runs/walks past their houses.  Since runners and dog-walkers often take part in this activity early in the morning, its not uncommon to be rudely awakened around 5:00 am as the dogs just 'go off' barking at our neighbors who are merely passing by their houses.  (But make no mistake, this can happen any part of the day or week!). We have talked with the owners of these dogs and they seem disinterested in solving the problem.  We have given them literature from the Humane Society that offers humane solutions to stopping the dogs from barking.We have called the police and had them go to their homes and warn them about the barking.  (But they can't/won't do anything and have told us to contact the Humane Society about the problem.)  Still no action.  The next step is to file a formal complaint with The Humane Society (as suggested by HPD) about the barking, which is our next step.  What happened to our quiet little neighborhood?  Why are our neighbors so insensitive to the noise concerns of others? And why has our neighborhood turned into what sounds like on many mornings, a DOG POUND?  If you have similar concerns, post your concerns here! If everyone just tolerates this situation (e.g., don't want to make a 'fuss'), our neighbors who own these out-of-control dogs will think its all right and will never to anything to curtail the barking.  Thanks for listening.

It is ironic that these people have no respect for their neighbors and no concept of how they are destroying the valley and yet they sit on neighborhood boards and join organizations that tout harmony and peace. The families on the corner of Puamamane and Mamaki have so many dogs it sounds like a dog pound.  The dogs bark night and day, endlessly at times, when the homeowners are either at home or away. What can be done?  Nothing.  They don't care.  So the rest of us suffer.