On Christmas Eve, South Otago man Blair Martin was visiting family in Dunedin when his dog Chase went missing.
A member of the public picked up the dog up after he almost got hit by a car and then took him to a dog-control officer, Mr Martin said.
The dog was not registered or microchipped.
Chase was then taken to the pound where he would spend the next 10 days because his details were never logged.
Mr Martin and a large number of friends and family searched for the dog, and the pound was contacted on at least three occasions.
Each time they were told he was not there, Mr Martin said.
"I contacted them on the first three days he was missing and on Christmas Eve to tell them he was missing, and each time I was told they didn’t have him."
It was not until Wednesday Chase’s details were entered into the system and Mr Martin was able to pick him up.
"It was such a relief for us when we were finally able to pick him up but also just so much frustration."
Mr Martin filed an official complaint with the council.
Council group manager customer and regulatory services Adrian Blair said the council apologised for its miscommunication about Chase and would review how it happened to prevent a repeat.
It was important to note the dog was not registered or microchipped when it was taken to the pound, he said.
"Had he been registered and microchipped he could have been reunited with his owners much sooner."
All dogs were required to be registered in New Zealand and their owners details are kept on a national database — which the council has access to, he said.Chase was never at threat of being adopted out or euthanised.
"The dog was at no stage in danger of being re-homed or euthanised. The timeframe would only have applied from the time the owner was advised the dog was in the pound."
Mr Martin said the council was shifting the blame.
"Even with a microchip you still have to put some sort of information in the system to say the dog is on the property," he said.
As a result of the mix up the council charged Mr Martin for only one night of impound fees and for registration and microchipping.
Mr Martin said he would pay the fee but thought the council would have waived the cost because of the situation.
"I’ll pay it because he should have been chipped but still they could have said ‘hey look we’re sorry for the situation and we’ll waive the fees’."
