ohmidog!

Name: Gatsby

Breed: Great Dane

Age: 3

Encountered: At an outdoor concert by Possum Jenkins in downtown Winston-Salem, N.C.

Backstory: We wouldn’t call him spoiled — at least not to his face — but Gatsby had it pretty cushy Saturday night, lounging on the giant dog bed his owners toted along because Gatsby finds the street itself something less than comfortable to lay on.

When I started taking his picture he got up, repositioning himself on the lap of his owner Steve Joiner, who works for Truliant Federal Credit Union, which sponsors the Summer on Trade concert series. Judging from Joiner’s reaction — there was none — Gatsby must do that a lot.

Later, Gatsby reassumed his position on his cushion, paying close attention as Joiner and his wife, Nora Garver, passed snacks back and forth.

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

Name: Bailey

Age: 2 1/2 years

Breed: Corgi-Chow mix

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

Backstory: Ace and I were visiting Winston-Salem’s dog park when Bailey came trotting in — a demure little thing with a pretty close to ground level view of the world.

Built like a fire hydrant with short stocky legs and a neck as big as her head, she was adopted by her owner from the Forsyth County Humane Society a couple of years ago.

Despite being short of stature, she had no trouble leaping a foot-high barrier, and, with two more leaps, jumping up on a picnic table, at which point she towered over Ace and all the other dogs, who she seemed content to lay there and watch.

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