Bilingual dogs requirement story a hoax

MONTREAL, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A satirical radio show tricked some folks with a faux report about a proposal that dogs in Montreal must be taught to respond to commands in English and French.

The fictitious story by CBC Radio's "This is That" program went viral this week on Twitter. The Drudge Report linked to it, New York Magazine posted a blog on it and social media aggregator Digg picked it up, CBC News reported Friday.

The radio show said the proposed bylaw was in response to "untenable chaos" in bilingual Montreal dog parks because some pets were receiving commands in French and others in English.

"Dog parks in our city are chaotic and communication is at the heart of the conflict," a phony Montreal city councillor, Benoit LaDouce, said in the segment posted on the show's website.

While some followers on Twitter caught on, others were sucked in and started contacting city officials.

Mayoral spokesman Jonathan Abecassis said calls flowed into City Hall about the fake report.

"The priority is making sure people understand their elected officials are not working on making dogs bilingual," the spokesman for Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum said.

"The priority is managing the city and fighting corruption."

"We obviously feel for the city of Montreal and City Council who are probably getting some calls right now. We feel bad that that was an outcome of this, but it's a joke. A pretty funny one," said "This is That" producer Chris Kelly.