KAHALA — State signs notifying dog owners that pooches are allowed on the beach as long as they're leashed were swiped by vandals recently, bringing into focus confusion about the law on the matter.

At the entrances to the three beach accessways along Kahala Beach are city-printed signs stating that dogs are banned from the beach. But state law, which governs the beach from the high-water mark, allows leashed dogs on beaches.

While some beachgoers keep pets on a tight leash, others either ignore or are unaware of the state law.

In July, after years of talking about the confusion that pits area residents offended by dogs wandering leash-free against dog owners who want to maintain their legal right to walk pets along this narrow stretch of sandy beach, the state erected signs that read: "Dogs must be leashed on beach," said Clark Hatch, who led the Dogs on the Beach Task Force formed last year.

But less than a month after three signs were posted on the state portion of the beach, vandals removed them, said Peter Young, state Department of Land and Natural Resources chairman. Two were found, but the third is still missing, he said. The signs will be posted again, Young said.

On O'ahu, 37 beach areas allow dogs on a leash and 26 beach areas prohibit dogs. In some areas, dogs are only allowed below the high-tide mark. In others, they are allowed beyond retaining walls, and others beyond seawalls.

The city manages — and sometimes owns — beach accessways through residential neighborhoods or beach parks, and dogs are not allowed on city park land. The city allows dogs on leashes through their areas to the state beaches, but only as a direct route to the beach, said Lester Chang, city Department of Parks and Recreation director. The task force led by Hatch attempted to clarify the confusion for Kahala Beach with the installation of brown state information signs.

Ian Walters said that for 18 months, he attended Wai'alae-Kahala Neighborhood Board meetings to discuss the jurisdictional confusion caused by the signs. A frequent visitor at Kahala Beach, Walters wants dogs on it to be safe from unleashed dogs and the beach free of dog droppings, and he wants simple signs saying that dogs must be leashed at all times.

In the end, Walters said he simply stopped going to the beach.

"I gave up, exhausted," Walters said. "I am so disgusted with the city and the state. The main objective for me was to remove the confusion."

Dog owner Celia Marie Moore, a regular at Kahala Beach, drives about two miles to bring her small dog for a leashed walk.

"It's a fantastic beach," she said.

Most dog owners on the beach use leashes, Moore said. In addition, she said, many of those beachgoers pick up rubbish and broken glass while walking.

"She's little and I don't want anything to happen to her," Moore said, referring to her dog. "It's the case of a few spoiling it for the rest."

Resident Lucinda Pyles, who has been active in the community on beach issues, said "unannounced use of all-terrain vehicles (by police) have really helped with the dog issue."

Police routinely patrol Kahala Beach, Diamond Head and Sandy Beach with one or more of the four ATVs assigned to the patrol district, said police Lt. Gerrit Kurihara. Mostly, police give dog owners warnings, unless the owner has a habit of coming to the beach with the same dog off the leash, Kurihara said. In such cases, citations are issued.

State DLNR enforcement administrator Gary Moniz said the most commonly received complaints about dogs on the beach have to do with the dogs approaching children, barking and fighting with other dogs. Dog droppings on the beach are also a common complaint, he said.

The two beaches with the most complaints are in Kailua and Kahala.

"The bottom line is it is an issue of common courtesy," Moniz said. "No one wants their day on the beach ruined because of some dog running loose on the beach."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.