• other dogs are not interfered with;
• joggers and walkers are not harassed;
• dogs do not cause traffic incidents; and
• dogs don’t cause a nuisance to inhabitants of the neighbourhood by misbehaving in any manner such as barking, yelping, howling or whining.

Re: BREACH OF ESTATE RULES & BREACH OF CITY OF CAPE TOWN ANIMAL BY-LAW, 2010

1. It has been brought to our attention that, notwithstanding previous requests and notices to all home owners and tenants, the situation in the estate relating to roaming and / or barking dogs continues unabated.

2. Not only are some owners and tenants breaching the Stonehaven Constitution and the Estate Rules, they are also contravening the City of Cape Town Animal By-Law of 2010. The full By-law can be downloaded from our website: www.stonehavenestate.co.za.

3. In this regard we draw your attention to the following:

• keep any dog the faeces of which he or she fails to remove regularly and dispose of suitably;
• keep any dog which barks, yelps, howls or whines for more than six accumulated minutes in an hour or more than three accumulated minutes in an half hour;
• ….
• keep any dog which causes a nuisance to inhabitants of the neighbourhood by-
• ….
• by misbehaving in any other manner;
• permit any dog owned or kept by him or her-

4. Should complaints be lodged against any home owner, directly to the Council, it  will no doubt take steps against any such home owner directly, inter alia, in the following manner:

• An authorised official may seize and impound at a place appointed by the Council any dog which-
• …. (h)
• is being kept in contravention of section 2 or section 6.
• …..(10)

• Cause a notice to be served on the owner of such a dog requiring such owner to take such steps as will effectively abate such nuisance or contravention and to establish to the satisfaction of the authorised official that such dog is being properly kept;
• Impound the dog and deal with it in terms of this section, provided that such dog shall not be released to its owner unless such owner, within the period of ten days contemplated by subsection (9), provides the authorised official with satisfactory proof that such dog, if released to him or her, will not cause any further nuisance and will be kept under control.

5. If found to be in breach, not only could the home owners’ dog(s) be removed (as has been set out above) but the following could also be invoked:

• Any person who –
• Contravenes or fails to comply with any provisions of this by-law or with any order or notice lawfully issued thereunder commits and offence; and
• Continues to commit an offence after notice has been served on him or her to cease committing such offence or after he has been convicted of such offence shall be guilty of a continuing office.
• Any person convicted of an offence under this by-law shall be liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years.

6. In order to avoid any formal complaint being lodged with the Council, we are requesting all owners of dogs to immediately ensure that the necessary steps are taken to ensure that their dogs are kept in and on their properties (so as to ensure that the dogs do not roam on the estate); and to further ensure that dogs do not bark incessantly.

7. In general you are requested to ensure that with regard to your dogs that:

• you comply with the rules set out in this regard in both the constitution of the Stonehaven Estate; and
• the estate rules; and
• the applicable City of Cape Town By-law, 2010.

8. Should there be any further and ongoing complaints relating to any home owners’ dogs, we will have no alternative but to:

• issue fines of R500 for each transgression; and/or
• report the matter to the Council (City of Cape Town) and request the appropriate investigation to take place.