Milo

One consequence of having Emily is getting to know people at various dog parks. And dogs, too. There's Lucky, a golden poodle who arrived, groomed and blown-out on Monday morning and within two minutes was a bedraggled hulk; Michaela Marie, a rescue who has one trick: she'll jump into her owner's arms from a flying start; Wendell (who despite the name is female, a very demure little beagle); and there's Milo.

Milo is a young bloodhound-mix. He doesn't have the saggy-dog face that some bloodhounds have, he's young and springy, but lord, that bay echoes across the field and over the surrounding streets. And Milo has the weirdest habit: he digs a hole in the lawn, puts his head down in or on top of it, and stays there, lying on his side. As his dog-walker, Tom, says, "Milo just falls in love with that hole! Thus, when anyone, human or canine, approaches, Milo bays and snarls furiously, defending his love. The trainers who have seen this say it is the oddest canine behavior they remember. Today he was particularly possessive and adamant, at leaving-time, that he would not be separated from the hole. And I thought people were weird.