Causing a commotion: Chinese ‘dog’ walker stops city traffic as she leads man on his hands and knees

A middle-aged woman caused a rush-hour traffic jam in a Chinese city while taking her “dog” for a walk – a young man crawling on his hands and knees with a dog collar and lead around his neck, mainland media reports.

The woman, dressed in deep blue skirt and high heels, attracted a huge crowd of bystanders on Friday evening as she occasionally stopped to stroke the man’s head and told people watching that he was her “dog”, the Strait Metropolis News reported.

The incident caused a sensation in the centre of Fuzhou, in Fujian province. Many pedestrians stopped to watch while a number of drivers stopped to park their vehicles to take photographs.

Pictures of the incident went viral on the mainland’s internet and social media.

The man, dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, could be seen crawling on all fours while being dragged along the street. He was also wearing a pair of kneepads for protection, witnesses said.

Eventually the traffic jam attracted the police, who arrived and ordered the couple to stop what they were doing.

The woman then untied the rope from the man’s neck, and the couple walked into the nearest shopping mall.

Most comments posted on mainland social media websites were negative. Some internet users said that while such behaviour was not illegal, it should remain private, rather than be displayed in public areas because it could provoke public resentment in the male-dominated Chinese society.