Moving out of the dorms and into your own place can be an exciting experience, but moving into a neighborhood causes one to encounter new obstacles and struggles that are completely different than when living in the dorms. There are the unwanted parties of other neighbors, those who don’t take out their trash, the occasional lingering male neighbor that you discovered is a registered sex offender, and then there is a rooster.
Living for two years on 2nd Avenue, off of Waialae Avenue in the Kaimuki neighborhood, I have learned to tolerate the crowded and limited space inside this residential area. It is small, and most of the neighbors are pleasant but keep to themselves. They respect one another.
A few weeks ago, however, one of my neighbors bought a rooster. Not only does this bird of evil crow at 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., but it has been recently starting to go off at random times of the day such as noon and 3 p.m. This makes it especially difficult for my roommates who are nursing students and rely on naps through out the day to compensate for their clinical labs at 5 a.m. they are required to take for their major.
“It’s annoying when you want to take a nap and the rooster goes off in the middle of the day,” said Heather Barigian, a junior at Chaminade. Not only is she my roommate, but also part of the intensive nursing program at Chaminade as well.
“I have never been afraid to sleep at night until now when I know the crowing will start at 4 a.m.”
Another neighbor, Eleanor Scott, living about ten feet from us, has been a resident of 2nd Avenue for 23 years. Scott said that not only has the rooster affected her sleeping schedule, but it scares her small dog as well.
“This rooster is such a nuisance to our neighborhood,” Scott said. “We are cramped and hear unwanted noises from adjacent houses enough as it is, but now this random crowing is just plain rude on the part of its owner. My dog will continue to bark and whine for long durations once the crowing begins. My husband and I cannot take naps or sleep at night.”
My roommates and I called Animal Control in Honolulu and spoke with an employee that did not completely solve our problem but gave us advice on how to approach this issue and hopefully help stop it. Because the rooster does not fit into any complaint clause it deserves a category all its own.
Isaac Blane, who works for Animal Control in the Honolulu district said “Due to this unique situation we must treat it the same as any other noise complaint from a neighborhood pet.”
Blane went on to say, “We ask that the neighbors first determine where the source is located and ban together to confront the source initially,” Blane said. “It is only when the neighbor refuses to comply, you know, the problem persists, that we at Animal Control are forced to take action.”
This advice caused my roommates and I to confront the neighbor with the rooster using a small note to begin with. We stated our problem with the noise and the random crows in the middle of the day and early a.m. hours. We left the note on his doorstep, and ever since, the crowing has ceased.
We did not directly confront the source face to face, but the note was simple, yet firm. We hoped to get a message across that let him know we deserve to be respected and receive reliable quiet hours as residents in this neighborhood.
If you or anyone you know are experiencing issues with noise or pet problems where you live, Animal Control is an option that will help you deal with it and find a solution.
You can contact the Honolulu district at: 487-2667 and finally get some sleep.
In this neighborhood we now have one problem down, and fifty more to go. At 2nd Avenue, every day is a fiasco. There is never a boring night in our neighborhood, but it is a relief to know there will no longer be the crowing of a demon rooster to haunt us in our daily routines.
