SA Property Law - Barking Dog and Community Ranger Powers?

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Solo

Active Member
1 June 2015
10
0
31
Just a quick question and hope it's in the right sub-forum. We're in SA. Behind our house in one of three properties we have a dog that barks constantly through the week and after a year or so we broke and contacted the council.

We told them we do not know exactly which property the animal is in, and asked for help. We also said we wanted to be anonymous (we got burned a few years back with very violent neighbours when we complained about their 2 am parties). It's strictly anon from now on. Just the world we live in now.

So, the council sent some community rangers around who told me they had no powers to investigate the two potential properties and needed me to give them a specific address. I told them I have tried (very hard) but cannot tell without trespassing. They basically said, tough s**t then.

My question is, can the property law really be that bad? Are these rangers so toothless they can't knock on two doors to locate a nuisance dog?

Thanks in advance everyone :(
 

Scruff

Well-Known Member
25 July 2018
925
135
2,389
NSW
If you can work out the direction it's coming from, then you should be able to work out the exact address using Google Maps or similar. If needed, Satellite mode can be really helpful for identifying the correct property by roof colour, position of trees, etc.
 
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Solo

Active Member
1 June 2015
10
0
31
I've done my best, and I think I'm safe in dismissing one of the three properties, but there is no way I can tell between the remain two. It's uphill from our place, and both are off to left and obscures behind vegetation. The dog could be in either garden. I even thought about buying a drone, then I thought, wait a second - what do I pay all those dollars in tax for every month - and then it hit me - ask the council for help. Yeah, right.
 

Scruff

Well-Known Member
25 July 2018
925
135
2,389
NSW
What's the view like from on your roof? Maybe it's time to adjust that pesky TV antenna.

Other than that, do you get along with your neighbours? If one of their properties backs onto the 2 in question, then maybe a walk around their backyard might be enough to get a better sense of direction. After all, they'd probably be sick it too.

Unfortunately there's not much the council can do if they can't identify the correct property either. If they went door knocking for complaints like this, there would be more complaints lodged about them than about barking dogs. I've been in your situation myself and while I sympathize, in reality, the council's hands are pretty much tied until you can pinpoint the address yourself.