Elena and Keegan share their home with the lovely lab/pit mix, Enoch. Quite different from our last character, Oslo, Enoch is a sociable but serious dog. His owner’s describe him as a philosopher, saying he can often be found staring off into space having deep dog thoughts.

Enoch’s family recently moved houses, and he now shares his home with a cat and two hedgehogs. Enoch acts as an unofficial hall monitor for their home, keeping tabs on the behavior of the other animals who share his space. If the cat is scratching he’s the first to tattle, and will gleefully relish watching the ensuing punishment.

He is particularly interested when the hedgehogs run on their wheels, not out of any predatory urges, but rather some obsessive need to control his environment. As I interviewed his owners, Enoch was patrolling the periphery of the park, sniffing carefully and deliberately peeing on all the appropriate objects.

Enoch could be described as having an unusual sense of self for a dog. He doesn’t pander to humans; he doesn’t work for food.

Elena and Keegan report that trying to train Enoch was very frustrating, as he refused to be rewarded with treats for performing tricks. Unmoved by the usual motivators, Enoch acts primarily on his own set of unique beliefs about the world.

For example, you may be able to convince him to play dead (the newest trick in his repertoire), but you will never convince him that broom is anything but a suspicious intrusion on his space. Leaned against the wall, Enoch will stalk this strange, brushy object, moving around it carefully while always keeping it in the corner of his vision.  Should a gust of wind or lack of balance knock it over- watch out. This is all the convincing Enoch needs to place an experience firmly in the “unsettling” category.

Cooing at Enoch enrages him; though it’s not completely clear why. It’s possible he resents being patronized by strangers, but it may also evoke the memory of his landlord cooing at him while holding a broom– a disturbing experience which has generalized to everyday life.

A vigilant and intelligent pet, Enoch may not possess the easy-going air of many of his contemporaries but it’s nice to know that there are dogs out there constantly assessing their environments, ready to alert us to dangerous Brooms in our midst.