VIDEO: Has Mike Bloomberg Met a Dog Before?

Mike Bloomberg is running for president, which includes shaking a lot of hands and kissing a lot of babies. And, as people grow more and more fond of their canine companions, patting those good boys and girls on the head. The former New York City mayor will need a big boost to emerge through a crowded democratic field.

One way to create a buzz, I guess, is to leave open the possibility that you've never met a dog before. Here's Bloomberg interacting with one yesterday.

There has been an immediate and visceral reaction to the confounding footage. A lot of folks have never seen this move, where a person tries to shake a dog's mouth. I have had the fortune of experience this part of life's rich tapestry, so I feel honor-bound to defend it as a thing people do. At the same time, it's important to offer the requisite warning.

It is, obviously, a bad idea to grab a strange dog's mouth and shake it around. Don't do that. Your own dog? Sure. There needs to be a familiarity.

Also, and not for nothing, don't do this to a person either.