Poppy gets the last bark

Rowena Orejana meets Audrey Atkinson and her pug, Poppy, who are happy to see the last of Manukau City Council after what it has put them through.

Audrey Atkinson can finally rest easy with Poppy.
Mrs Atkinson complained to The Aucklander in April about an unfair $300 fine imposed on her for microchipping the puppy late. She, however, challenged the registration date on which the council based its deadline.
The story was picked up by a TV consumer affairs show. With so much negative publicity, the council waived the fine.
"They didn't offer any apology whatsoever. They didn't actually send us any correspondence after the dispute. If we didn't watch the show, we wouldn't have known it had waived the fine," says Mrs Atkinson.
The council originally insisted the dog was registered on January 12 and sent Mrs Atkinson a letter on January 26 telling her she had two months to get Poppy microchipped.
On the advice of her vet, Mrs Atkinson arranged to have the dog microchipped and spayed on March 26.
She received the infringement notice on March 17. "That was all sorted then when they paid the fee. But when I went back to register her for the second year, they wouldn't give me my credit," she says.
She paid $130 at the start of the year for a registration that would expire in the middle of the year.
She was told then that half would be credited for the following year's registration.
"But when I went to register Poppy, they told me I didn't have credits because Poppy was already 8 months old when I registered her. They got her birthdate wrong," she says.
She told council staff the puppy was registered when she was 3 months old and paid the $100 registration less the $65 the council owed her.
"They gave me the tag. I don't think they wanted to go over the whole thing with me again," she says.
Mrs Atkinson says dealing with the old council was stressful.
"I'm glad I don't have to deal with them anymore. Hopefully, the new council will be more efficient."