Bobo

Last Friday I looked out the front window when I hear the dogs barking and found Duke running back and forth along the fence with a basset hound doing the same thing on the sidewalk side. I recognized the basset hound as one belonging to a family who lived a block and a half to the North of me and went to the front door and opened it. By then the dogs had tired of the game and the basset was trotting down the sidewalk. I called out, "Copper!"
The dog turned around and started walking back toward my house with his tail wagging. I shut my dogs inside the house and let Copper into the yard. I knew the owner worked at the Police station and would be at work so I called there and asked for her. I was told she was home sick that day. I told the person on the other end of the line that Copper was at my house and he said he would call the owner and let her know her dog was at my house.

After an hour I decided Copper's owner was not able to come get him so I walked him back to his house. When I got there his owner came to to door, looked down at him, and said, "That's not Copper."
I was surprised as the dog had been answering to Copper and looked exactly like Copper. She admitted he resembled Copper but said their Copper was a smaller dog.  In fact, he was in her backyard right then. She then said she thought this basset hound belonged to someone she worked with and that his name was Bobo. I looked down at not-Copper and asked, "Are you Bobo?"
He started wagging his tail.  Confirming that, indeed, he was Bobo, so we said goodbye and walked back to my house.

After putting him back in my yard I called the number I had called earlier. The same person answered the phone and I told them I had Bobo not Copper and he said he would contact Bobo's owner and that the owner should be over shortly to get his dog. Two hours later I still had Bobo and I needed him to go home as I had my dogs quarantined inside my house since he first came in the yard. I was doing this because I wasn't sure how Duke would react to Bobo being on his property. He has been uncharacteristically aggressive toward other dogs ever since he had been attacked by a black lab while we were walking the dogs 2 months ago. I called the owner's work number again and again talked to the same person. After telling him Bobo was still at my house and that I need him to go home now I was told an officer would be there right away.

Thirty minutes later a patrol car rolled up in front of my house while I was outside doing some yard work, Bobo at my side. The office got out of the car, looked at Bobo and said, "That's not Bobo."
I looked down at the dog and said,  "You're not Bobo, are you?"
Not-Bobo started wagging his tail and I finally understood that what his tail wag meant. It said, "I'm anyone you want me to be."