(Newser)
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Kala and Kamakani are not only on probation, they're in therapy. And they both happen to be Italian sheepdogs who got their owners in trouble because of tough new anti-barking laws in Hawaii, the Wall Street Journal reports. If a dog psychologist can't quiet them down—and he's trying—the canines could get kicked out of the neighborhood, and force their owners to be fined $575. So the dog shrink is working on it: "No!" he cries. Kamakani looks up: "Woof!"
Kala and Kamakani aren't alone. Dog counseling has been popular since Hawaii County passed a law this year banning any barking that goes uninterrupted for 10 minutes. Lawmakers approved it because, on the Big Island, many people own packs of dogs to help with pig hunting—and neighbors got sick of the all-night yapping. Not to mention that more people are jobless and homebound these days. But Kala and Kamakani's shrink appears at a loss: "There's very little for them to do," he says. "Barking is their TV."
