Hound tried defending me last night. Nothing bad happened, but I am very touched that he wanted to protect me rather than just running away! Guy was hanging around the park around 1am standing so still I almost mistook him for a tree. By the time I was close enough to know it was definitely a person, it was too late to turn around without drawing attention to myself. Also, would have meant turning my back on him which I didn't want to so as something felt off. When we got really close, he suddenly dropped his bag on the floor, and started picking up all his things and putting them back in. Dog clearly thought something was off as well, as he pulled me away but stopped every 2 or 3 paces to look back at the man and jump up and down. I have never seen him act like that before but fairly sure he was trying to look big and aggressive and ready to fight if necessary. When we got to the end of the road, dog stopped again and looked back at the park for a good minute to check the man wasn't following us. Rest of walk passed without incident and brave boy got a whole tin of tuna for supper. I think this makes up for him eating The Gift of Fear!