A dog has been registered and eligible to vote in New Zealand, according to reports. The dog's owner, who registered the canine as a joke, is now being investigated by local officials for the incident.

Toby the Jack Russell, or rather, Toby Russell Rhodes, as he is listed on his voter's registration card, is listed as "rodent exterminator" for his occupation, and his form is signed with a squiggle and a paw print.

Toby didn't actually cast his ballot, though.

His owner, an air safety expert from Queenstown in New Zealand's South Island, says he registered Toby to make a humorous point about the lack of organization in the local bureaucracy.

But electoral enrollment center manager Murray Wicks failed to see the joke.

"It's an offense, and whoever's done it will be in the hands of the police," he is quoted as saying.