Leisha Ramos had just returned to her home island of Oahu when a series of events led to a security guard fatally shooting her dog, Kai‘ele, at Honolulu Airport.
“I was just in shock. … He was such a sweetheart,” said Ramos, 25. “He never attacked anybody.”
State Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara declined to provide details, saying the incident is still under investigation.
Securitas Security Services USA, which provides security at the airport, did not respond to a query about the airport incident.
Authorities were continuing to hold the body of Kai‘ele as evidence.
Ramos said Kai‘ele was part pit bull and 2 years old.
She said he had a gentle nature and was like a baby to her.
Ramos and Kai‘ele were returning to Oahu on Tuesday from Hawaii island. Kai‘ele landed in Honolulu at 4:30 p.m. on one flight and Ramos landed at 5:40 p.m. on a separate flight.
She said her boyfriend picked up Kai‘ele at the air cargo area, then drove his truck and parked near a grassy area just mauka of the Hawaiian Airlines terminal.
Ramos said that when she arrived, she went directly to where her boyfriend’s truck was parked.
Kai‘ele was left chained to a nearby coconut tree, and her boyfriend went to gather her luggage at the baggage claim area.
Ramos said a security officer parked his truck, got out of his vehicle, and was shouting at her and her boyfriend that they needed to get out of there and needed to remove the dog from the area.
“He said if you weren’t going to leave, he was going to take care of it,” she said.
She said he shouted at them and pulled out his weapon.
Ramos said Kai‘ele, she and her baby were sitting in a grassy area on a parking island.
“My dog stood up. … He was wagging his tail,” she said.
She said Kai‘ele’s chain broke, but that he wasn’t snarling, barking or growling.
“I immediately grabbed his collar. … It wasn’t enough to hold him,” she said. The dog pulled away, Ramos said.
Ramos said she was holding her 5-month-old baby in her left arm and Kai‘ele, and the security guard was only a couple of feet from Kai‘ele when he shot her dog in the forehead.
She said the security officer’s behavior aggravated the situation and that he did not have to shoot her dog.
Ramos said the security officer could have called animal control or pulled her and her boyfriend off to the side to talk with them, rather than shout and agitate the situation.
Ramos said several people told her they wrote statements saying that her dog was not a threat.
“They didn’t understand why he shot my dog,” she said.
She said she understands why people are afraid of pit bulls because of their build and the way they look.
“My dog was the complete opposite,” Ramos said.
