BRUCE Wallder the great dane may well be the first dog in history to receive a cheque in the mail as consolation for having his testicles removed.

That is exactly what Darwin council did last week, much to the amusement of Bruce's owner Tom Wallder.

De-sexed dog owners receive a registration reimbursement of $60 from the council for having their pets de-sexed, however the last thing Mr Wallder - the human - was expecting was for the cheque to be sent out in the name of his beloved and recently castrated eight-month-old canine. "I said to my wife, 'that's funny, the dog is getting mail now'," Mr Wallder said.

"I don't know what Bruce is going to spend it on ... probably some new balls."

media_camera Tom Wallder and his dog Bruce with the $60 cheque from Darwin council. Picture: ELISE DERWIN

Mr Wallder, of Larrakeyah, said when attempting to cash the cheque at his local bank his plans came unstuck, seemingly due to his inability to show identification for the affable canine.

"We went to the bank as a bit of a joke. The teller called her supervisor ... but in the end we couldn't do it. They said we had to have another one sent out," he said.

Mr Wallder said he believed an overzealous council administration assistant may have mistaken his very "human like" named dog Bruce for a real person.

"My wife wrote his name as Bruce Wallder ... so I can see what happened there. It is a very human name."

Mr Wallder said he'd ask the council to re-issue the cheque. The NT News has been assured by the council the new cheque will be in the name of Tom Wallder.