Then They Came for the Puppies...

In the farcical land still, nostalgically, called the British Isles, the world continues to function upside down.

A postcard featuring a cute puppy sitting in a policeman's hat advertising a Scottish police force's new telephone number has sparked outrage from Muslims.

Tayside Police's new non-emergency phone number has prompted complaints from members of the Islamic community.

The choice of image on the Tayside Police cards - a black dog sitting in a police officer's hat - has now been raised with Chief Constable John Vine.

he advert has upset Muslims because dogs are considered ritually unclean and has sparked such anger that some shopkeepers in Dundee have refused to display the advert.

Dundee councillor Mohammed Asif said: 'My concern was that it's not welcomed by all communities, with the dog on the cards.

'It was probably a waste of resources going to these communities.

'They (the police) should have understood. Since then, the police have explained that it was an oversight on their part, and that if they'd seen it was going to cause upset they wouldn't have done it.'

Councillor Asif, who is a member of the Tayside Joint Police Board, said that the force had a diversity adviser and was generally very aware of such issues.

He raised the matter with Mr Vine at a meeting of the board.

So the same Muslims who throw hissy fits at cartoons and murder filmmakers, now want to chase a puppy off police advertisements. The proper response, from Chief Vine on down, should be: "Sod off! This is Britain. Dogs are part of British culture. We like them. You chose to immigrate. Get used to it or leave."

But, of course, Chief Constable Vine will not say that, or anything like it. Nor will any British government official say a word to defend British culture (or Britons themselves) from Muslim childishness and aggression.

A spokesman for Tayside Police said: 'Trainee police dog Rebel has proved extremely popular with children and adults since being introduced to the public, aged six weeks old, as Tayside Police's newest canine recruit.

'His incredible world-wide popularity - he has attracted record visitor numbers to our website - led us to believe Rebel could play a starring role in the promotion of our non-emergency number.

'We did not seek advice from the force's diversity adviser prior to publishing and distributing the postcards. That was an oversight and we apologise for any offence caused.'

Ah, yes. The police should have to apologize for the "offense" of putting a puppy in a general advertisement. In Scotland. That's the meaning of multiculturalism.