ohmidog!

Ace, a friend and I were sitting outside at a bar downtown over the weekend when Elwood came by.

I being of the belief that one should never pass up an opportunity to meet a dog, especially a puppy, and Ace being of the belief one should never pass up an opportunity to meet anyone or anything, we stopped the young couple and asked to meet their dog.

Elwood quickly got over any camera-shyness, or Ace-shyness, he might have had.

Elwood is 9 weeks old, and a mix of dachshund and pit bull.

Name: Burger

Age: 3

Breed: Labradoodle

Encountered: At Washington Park, in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Backstory: This eye-catching boy drew a lot of attention when he sauntered into the dog park with his owners, mainly because of his silky coat the color of chocolate milk.

Make that chocolate milk that you haven’t quite finished stirring.

His fluffy, curly coat, in varying hues of silvery-brown, made me wonder why he was named Burger, and not Milkshake.

It was only around his eyes that you could clearly distinguish one of the breeds within — a chocolate Lab.

Burger was the first chocolate Labradoodle I’ve met, and I found myself coveting not just his hair color, but his aura — at once distinguished and goofy.

That’s what I want to be when I grow up.

You can find all our Roadside Encounters here.

Name: Dart

Breed: Chihuahua mix

Age: About 13

Encountered: At a Sunday street concert in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Backstory: Dart’s owners found him while they were living in Dallas. He was under some railroad tracks. They took him home and named him after the city’s transit system, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, or DART.

He seems to have it pretty cushy now, including his own little lime green beach chair they carry along to make sure he’s comfortable.

(Roadside Encounters are a regular feature of Travels with Ace. To see them all click here.)

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Name: Meatball

Breed: Pug

Age: Turning two this month

Encountered: At a Winston-Salem Dash baseball game

Backstory: Most people get a dog and then come up with a name. Julie Hurd did it the other way around. She came up with a name — Meatball — then started looking for a dog that fit it.

Being a pug, Meatball has that facial expression that seems to be perpetually asking why — in this case, why don’t you give me some of that sandwich, boy?

His puggish perseverance paid off. Meatball got a few bites from his new friend.

To see all our Roadside Encounters, click here.

Name: Tiny

Breed: Miniature Pinscher

Age: Unknown

Encountered: Outside a Thai restaurant in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Backstory: I ran into Tiny on my way to a speaking engagement. He was wandering unleashed among the tables in front of the restaurant, leading me to wonder if he might be lost.

Turns out he belonged to members of the restaurant staff, which explained why Tiny acted as if he owned the place, every once in a while peering through the front door, then hopping up on a chair, as if waiting to be served.

To see all of our Roadside Encounters, click here.

Name: Lily

Age: 3 years

Breed: Goldendoodle

Encountered: At a street concert in downtown Winston-Salem, N.C.

Backstory: We ran into about five other dogs when we went to Saturday night’s “Summer on Trade” concert, including Lily, who, unlike some of our other Roadside Encounters, was actually on the road.

Several blocks are closed off for the summer weekend concerts, and Lily seemed happy to be there, drawing lots of admirers. Her humans have another dog at home, a 12-year-old Newfoundland, but she doesn’t get out as much as she used to.

(Roadside Encounters are a regular feature of Travels with Ace. To see them all, click here.)

Name: Muffy

Age: 3 years

Breed: Poodle

Encountered: In downtown Winston-Salem, N.C.

Backstory: The first time Muffy’s owner walked past Ace on the sidewalk, she picked her little poodle up, carrying her to a spot on the sidewalk where she and her friend set up their chairs to listen to a concert.

There, Muffy sat for the duration, on one lap or the other.

As they were leaving, they stopped and talked, and although she still held Muffy in her arms, she didn’t seem as fearful that my dog was going to gobble her’s up.

Muffy’s owner said she’d never had a dog before Muffy. Her mother never liked dogs. But after her mother passed away, she found Muffy at the local humane society and adopted her.

“It’s the best thing I ever did,” she said.

(Roadside Encounters are a regular feature of Travels with Ace. To see them all, click here.)

Name: Piero

Age: 6

Breed: Yellow Lab

Encountered: At Washington Perk, a coffee house/grocery/deli in Winston-Salem, N.C. that — just down the street from the city’s dog park — has become one of Ace’s favorite hangouts.

Backstory: We were enjoying some breakfast Saturday morning on the outside deck when Piero arrived with his humans.

His owners said the name was Italian for Peter, or at least one variation of that, and that they gave all their pets Italian names.

Like Ace, Piero sat quietly, and grew more intent when food arrived.

Piero seemed a very happy dog. Being a yellow lab, he may not be headed for the dean’s list, his owner noted.

But then he did know enough to get into the shade, which was more than you could say for us.

(Roadside Encounters is a regular feature of Travels With Ace. To see them all click here.)

Name: Elsie

Age: Almost 6 months

Breed: German shepherd/beagle mix

Encountered: At Reynolda Village, in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Backstory: Adopted two months ago by a young couple, Elsie bumped into Ace, quite literally, as we rounded a corner in a collection of shops, restaurants, galleries and businesses known as Reynolda Village. The village was originally built by tobacco tycoon R.J. Reynolds to house workers at his estate.

What was the Reynolds country home is now the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, and it and its surrounding 1,067-acre estate — complete with hiking trails and formal gardens — seems to be pretty dog- friendly (though not leash-free) territory.

Elsie — and our guess is she was headed for K-9 Doggie Bakery and Boutique, just around the corner — was initially taken aback upon running into Ace, but only for a second. Then she seemed mostly curious, and fearless. She sniffed those parts of him she could reach, then attempted to engage him nose to nose, before she and her humans moved on.

To see all our Roadside Encounters, click here.

Name: Clyde

Breed: Great Dane mix

Age: About 1

Encountered: At Riverside Park in Baltimore

Backstory: We ran into this handsome Great Dane mix at the park Friday. Clyde was found last year at a school near Patterson Park. Signs were posted seeking his owners, who eventually responded and said they didn’t want him anymore, according to his new owner.

Clyde has been in his new home since October, adopted through a rescue organization.

He was a new face, for us, and even though Clyde seemed very mellow and non-threatening, Ace, contrary to his normal behavior, seemed to feel the need to let Clyde know who was in charge.

Generally, Ace doesn’t throw his weight around, unless he sees some dogs fighting, or some humping going on. Then he responds swiftly, letting both parties know they need to break it up.

While Ace always acts like he’s the sheriff of the park, he usually doesn’t go all macho — but with Clyde he did, following him around, leaning his head over Clyde’s back, and seemingly challenging him to a showdown at the water fountain.

A couple of times he has met dogs he, at first, didn’t seem to like — usually large black male ones, especially if they still have all their boy equipment. He’ll do a bit of posturing, but usually nothing comes of it and they end up friends.

With Clyde, Ace continued following and  hovering over and around him until he left.  Clyde didn’t seem bothered by the attempted indimidation. All the Great Danes I’ve known seem cool that way. Their ability to take things in stride is as huge as their actual stride.

Ace, would go on acting strange, long after our encounter with Clyde. Later that night, he switched into wimpy, ultra-sensitive mode, as he’ll do sometimes when there’s a loud noise. He was antsy, his tail between his legs, seemingly afraid to be outside. The heavy winds seemed to be bothering him, or maybe, someone suggested, the full moon was the cause.

In any event, he had, in a matter of  hours, gone from Bruce Willis to Woody Allen. He’s quite complex, my dog, with moods as interchangeable as my own, which is all OK. As long as he doesn’t start acting like Mel Gibson.