Going to Extremes

From today's The Ethicist column in the NY Times:

Sometimes my normally obedient dog, Ornette, escapes our fenced yard and will not return on command. We open the car door and tell her excitedly that we will take her for a walk, her favorite activity, to entice her into the car. Then we put on the leash and take her home, no walk. Although dogs don’t really understand language in the way that humans do, I’m worried about the ethical propriety of our misleading ploy. Should I be? — DAVID SCHADE, VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA

I thought Randy Cohen made up these entries but there is a David Schade listed in the Victoria telephone book.