British man who allegedly registered his dog to vote faces possible prison time

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British man who allegedly registered his dog to vote faces possible prison time
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Even if many of us consider our pets to be part of the family, they're still not actually humans. Russell Hoyle, a dog owner in Britain, is in trouble with the police for allegedly registering his 9-year-old rottweiler Zeus to vote — a claim that he denies. The Stockton city council is accusing Hoyle of electoral fraud, and he faces hefty fines and possible prison time if convicted.

Hoyle told the Guardian that a census official came to his house and asked him who lived there. "There is myself and my wife. My son is not old enough to vote," he answered, and added jokingly, "We have got Zeus living here as well and he is 63 in dog years." A polling card addressed to Zeus Hoyle was delivered to the house soon after.

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.