An early riser, I am generally on one of the first trains out of my local station and walking across the sprawling university campus by 6 a.m.

One advantage of this custom is that I get to meet a lot of nice dogs.

Now that it is winter, many of these dogs are dressed to the nines. One of the posh pooches I bumped into last week wore a Burberry coat, complete with belt tied in a provocative "Alain Delon" trench coat knot.