The Slice: With those smarts, why does he sleep in the hay?

The Slice heard about a 3-year-old named Ainsley who is still figuring out what Christmas is all about.

She and her mother, Paula Conn, had set up a tabletop Nativity scene. And the little girl was eager to explain the layout to her dad, Marv.

Her mother, reciting Ainsley’s exact choice of words, described that report: “She pointed out the three kings, the shepherd, the mommy, the daddy and the baby genius.”

•Just wondering: Would one of your computer passwords make a good name for a film production company?

• Going to the dogs: The Slice heard quite a few stories of canines being offered treats at various Spokane area workplaces. The people seem to enjoy the interaction and the dogs reportedly appreciate the snacks.

But then there was this, from a reader whose name has appeared in The Slice before but who asked for anonymity on this occasion.

“I am always horrified/mortified/offended/ disgusted when I see people taking their precious pooches into department stores, grocery stores and the like,” she wrote. “I love dogs but they don’t belong in public places.

“It is presumptuous of dog owners to assume that everyone is going to love their dog as much as they do. Some people are deathly afraid of dogs and I feel sorry for the shoppers who encounter them in what is meant to be a safe environment.

“Some people have allergies and their health is compromised when around dogs. What happens when two dogs encounter each other and there is a resulting dog fight in the middle of the aisle? What if a dog relieves himself in a store?

“Dogs, other than certified service dogs, have no place in stores, restaurants, schools, businesses, or malls. People, leave your dogs at home.”

Another reader – again, someone whose name has appeared in this column but who requested that she not be identified this time – also weighed in against bringing dogs into public buildings.

“They have absolutely no place at work or in a business unless you work at a pet specialty store,” she wrote.

This reader works in a grocery store. “And I am sick of having to clean up pee and poo after little FooFoo has an ‘accident.’ ”

• Thanks to all who shared lists of the Web sites they check every day: Plenty of diversity there. I might not finish until 2009, but I hope to visit each site mentioned.

• Second opinion: Spokane Valley’s Marilyn Daniels wrote, “Anyone who says that Spokane has ‘the worst roads of anywhere’ they have been probably hasn’t gone very far.”

• Today’s Slice question: What do you think of adorning cars with Christmas decorations?