Walking the dog

I've mentioned previously that our family acquired a pound pup a few months ago, a rapscalious bundle of energy and teeth that is finally beginning to comprehend that our carpet is not his toilet.

More often than not, it falls my lot to walk the dog. Who would have known that the devilish dog could be a true emissary of evil?

I read the morning that Saudi Arabia has banned the ownership of pets in its capital city, and has specifically put the quietus on walking pets in public because -- get this -- pets in public could lead to flirting.

It's true. The "Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice," a fancy name for the country's religious police, have been ordered to crack down on men suspected of employing their pets as chick magnets.

The Associated Press quoted commission leader Othman al-Othman, who said the ban was ordered because of "the rising of phenomenon of men using cats and dogs to make passes at women and pester families" as well as "violating proper behavior in public squares and malls."

Who knew that puppy piddling and kitty cuddling could lead to concupiscence?

But who knows? It could be true. I've noticed that, when I take Banjo for a walk and we meet a woman coming the other way, he inevitably lunges toward her and I have to pull him back before he applies a licking to her legs, which could potentially lead to conversation.

Of course, he does the same thing when we pass men, other dogs, cats, bicycles, birds, butterflies, June bugs, or anything that smells. Who knows what sins could arise from such confrontations?

Now that I've been warned, perhaps we'll forgo the dog-walking and limit Banjo's business to our fenced-in back yard ... just to be on the safe side.