I often puzzled about what Hugo was. He for sure was smarter than most of the animals that I was familiar with. There are a lot of nocturnal critters. To some extent, I am one of them. Most are pretty shy and avoid people. Hugo seemed to get used to me and for whatever reason liked to walk along with me. Winter, spring, summer, and fall he was there. I used to go there almost every night as long as it wasn't raining.
Back then there just wasn't anything to do when I got off at midnight. By the time I had bathed, eaten, and headed out it was usually about one AM. The local cops got used to me and my walks. I often stopped by my church and spent some time there, especially if it was cold. I was Chairman of building and grounds so had every right to be there. I would play the piano a little bit, I wasn't very good at it but enjoyed doing it.
The night is a different world from the day and the night people are mostly loners and in my case, they were always friendly. Even the cops seemed to be more laid back at night. I had not always had the greatest relationships with the cops but as I got older they seemed to chill out and not be so bothered by me. I was, by all appearances, a big, tall longhaired hippie. This was the late 60s and early 70s so they didn't like hippies in general. What was funny was that I was not really a hippie. I was a big longhaired redneck. I had horses most of my life and was n avid outdoorsman. My hair was long simply because I liked it that way. I didn't start shaving every day until I was in my 30s. Part native American mostly showed up in my lack of whiskers. When I was 21 I looked a lot younger and was carded at bars. For some reason, the long hair ended that. ???
I still am a night crawler. I seldom go to sleep before 4 AM. I have seen sunrise a lot more often at the end of my day than at the beginning. I read a lot and spend a lot of time in my shops making and doing things. I also do a lot of writing at night when things are quiet.