Sam Kostoulias said his back fence, which was built when EastLink was being constructed, had been left in such disrepair that a bull mastiff being walked along an adjacent treed reserve entered his property last December.

Mr Kostoulias claims the bull mastiff, which was off its lead, attacked his dog Bronte and put his three-year-old son Phoenix at risk.

He said Bronte, a red heeler cross Staffordshire, was injured, with the bull mastiff just missing a vein on his dog's throat.

He now wants to know who will take responsibility for ownership of the fence and is seeking $4000 compensation for vet bills.

"If they can't decide, I'll go to court so all the ratepayers know."

Mr Kostoulias believes damage was caused by dogs pawing at the fence.

In a letter to Mr Kostoulias in February, Knox Council said that while the treed reserve was council land, it was being occupied by ConnectEast, which would be "responsible for all maintenance issues... including alleged damages to your fencing".

Although in March, ConnectEast said any claim for damages should be against Knox Council, as the reserve remained under its management.

In an effort to resolve the matter, ConnectEast and the council in July offered to pay for "reasonable costs" in repairing the fence. However, neither accepted responsibility for the damage or "liability for other events".

Mr Kostoulias has rejected the offer, which has since been withdrawn by ConnectEast.

Knox city development director Angelo Kourambas said the fence was a boundary between private land and a municipal tree reserve that had been managed and maintained by ConnectEast, but that had recently been brought back under council management.

ConnectEast spokesman James Tonkin said it had informed Mr Kostoulias that it [the dog attack] was a civil matter between he and the owner of the other dog involved.