KEY POINTS:
Sally the border collie looks like a dog. She yaps like a dog, smells like a dog and, like most canines, enjoys a good scratch on the belly. Her other characteristics aside, Sally is your typical, well, dog.
And that's the bone of contention.
Sally's owner claims his
pampered pooch isn't by definition a "dog" - and he's gone as far as the High Court in a bid to prove his claims of canine corruption. The beef of his argument is that Sally is part of his family - "a living being who is loved and cared for as part of the household".
And that, he reckons, makes him exempt from paying dog registration and microchipping fees.
But colourful American-born Gordon Israel of Waihi isn't what you'd call your archetypal dog owner. He emigrated to New Zealand five years ago with his wife and since his arrival has challenged the law of the land at every turn. He doesn't have an occupation, but says he does help people with "tax matters" from time to time.
In fact, Israel isn't even his legal surname - he won't disclose what that is, saying only that he decided to change it for personal reasons.
To date, he's come to the attention of the Inland Revenue Department after refusing to pay income tax, has disputed traffic and parking fines - and now is in a dogfight with the Hauraki District Council over an $80 registration fee.
And as the fur continues to fly, the council's legal bills keep mounting - they have so far reached nearly $10,000.
But Israel appears to have found some unlikely support for his stand.
Nga Uri o Tupoto Maori (Inc) has, according to court documents, recognised Sally as a "registered beneficiary" of the Hokianga-based subtribe, which could mean in theory the border collie was entitled to share in any future settlement proceeds under the Treaty of Waitangi.
So how did it come to this?
The dispute between Israel and the council arose in October after Israel refused to pay the annual $80 dog registration fee for his border collie. He also refused to give the council his date of birth or allow the animal to be microchipped, as required under laws passed by Parliament earlier this year.
He claimed "a dog" was an "undesirable" term and did not apply to his canine, which was a loved and treasured member of his family.
The word "dog", for example, was used to refer to "ugly women" - and councils weren't asking them to pay an annual fee, he said. But that argument didn't wash with the district council.
Sally was impounded and Israel was prosecuted and convicted under the Dog Control Act, but still he refused to let sleeping dogs lie. He filed a fresh petition with the High Court at Hamilton in a bid to release his canine from captivity, but to avail.
According to Justice Heath, a dog was a dog and that was the end of the matter.
Israel was given until last week to register Sally or face the prospect of Sally being dog tucker.
He again refused, but managed to get around the law and save Sally's bacon by having his landlord register the dog as his.
End of story? Not quite. Now Israel is appealing his district court convictions in the High Court, with a date to be set down next month. He is also seeking nearly $100,000 to compensate for the stress and anguish his family suffered while Sally was impounded.
Hauraki District Council environmental services manager Mark Buttimore told the Herald on Sunday he hadn't seen anything like this in his 33 years in local government.
"It's a bizarre situation, and it's far from over yet," he said.
Israel still maintains Sally is not a "dog". The dictionary described a dog, he said, as "a four-footed domestic animal" which could mean almost anything.
"It could mean Sally is a cat, and she's clearly not that," he said.
"I didn't go looking for this. I just don't feel I should be compelled to pay this fee.
"People are saying 'all this for a dog'. This is the issue they [the council] have picked, not me.
"The council is only fighting me because they believe they have to. This has taken on a life of its own. I thought it would never come to this, but now I have no other choice but to fight this to the end."
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
