The director of a real estate agency in Iran was arrested for “undermining moral values” after selling an apartment to a dog, police said on Sunday.
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Police launched an investigation “after a video was released showing a real estate agency signing the sale of an apartment to a dog in western Tehran,” police said in a statement reported by local Isna news agency.
This video, which quickly went viral on social media, shows a couple declaring they are selling an apartment to their dog Chester, a Shih Tzu, because there is no heir.
According to these images, the little white dog installed on the real estate agent’s desk signs the contract with the help of the woman by making the imprint of his paw on the document.
“On Saturday morning, the head of the agency was arrested by the police and his office was closed by order of the judiciary,” said Tehran’s Deputy Prosecutor General Reza Tabar, quoted by Mizan Online, the judiciary’s communications outlet.
“The act committed by this real estate agency has no legal basis,” he added, accusing the boss of “wanting to undermine the moral values of society”.
As in many Muslim countries, dogs are considered unclean in Iran, but the law does not prohibit dog ownership.
A growing number of middle- and upper-class Iranians own pets, particularly dogs and cats.