"Sleepwalker" a High Line hit

Sleepwalker's found his peeps in NYC.

Reviled by many, splashed with yellow paint and generally not a welcome sight on Wellesley College's campus, Tony Matelli's "Sleepwalker" sculpture is getting a lot of love on NYC's High Line.

Mom reported this to me firsthand, because I could not accompany her to the city where she was headed to meet her agent. Somehow, she never gets tired of saying this.

The reasons I could not go were these:

1) While dogs now are permitted on Amtrak, those of my bulk (a very muscular 93 lbs.) are definitely not ok. Discrimination?

2) Even had I somehow snuck aboard, the High Line also prohibits dogs. Perhaps that's why Sleepwalker's pup (far less controversial, but still vandalized with matching paint) was nowhere to be seen. Mom spotted him about a year ago on the Upper West Side, where passerby were thrilled to have him in the neighborhood.

High Line visitors, too, were entertained by the paunchy white guy who wears nothing but a pair of tighty-whities. They had no problem shaking his outstretched hand, cuddling up between his flailing arms, and posing for countless pictures. So glad he's found a home.

In the absence of Sleepwalker's dog, I've been roaming the Wellesley campus, giving and getting lots of hugs of my own. In fact, I think I'm ready for the big time. NYC, one Very Big Beagle might just be headed your way!