In Chapter 12, Poem 17 of Attar's Mokhtar Nameh, the poet utilizes the metaphor of the 'suspicious dog' to symbolize the carnal ego (nafs). The verse highlights the ego's insatiable and paradoxical nature: even when surrounded by death ('a thousand bodies die before it'), the carnal self thrives and becomes 'more alive at every moment'. This imagery underscores the relentless difficulty of subduing base desires on the spiritual path.