Under partial lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Spaniards are allowed to leave home only for essential outings, walking a dog being one of them, but not a rented dog, the Civil Guard said on Wednesday as it sanctioned a man who had repeatedly tried to rent his dogs out via Facebook so that people could walk them.
“The man was advertising activities which implied people leaving their homes to rent dogs, or walk rented dogs,” said a Civil Guard spokeswoman in the northeastern Galicia region. “That would be infringing the decree that only permits going outdoors for work, groceries, walking your dog or pharmacy visits.”
The Facebook user faces a possible fine of 500 to 5,000 euros (US$547 to US$5,472), but he had not yet been detained.
Life in Spain ground to a halt after a state of emergency was declared on March 14 that imposed strict restrictions on movement to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
As of Wednesday, authorities had arrested 484 people since the start of the lockdown, including 55 over the previous 24 hours for failing to comply with security measures, officials said.
In one flagrant case, eight men were arrested in central Barcelona on Friday last week for a “crime against public health” after they were found engaged in a drug-fueled orgy.
The vast majority of Spaniards have complied with lockdown and social distancing recommendations, spawning dozens of confinement-related hashtags, social media trends or balcony singing, as people seek to connect with and amuse one another.
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