Philo is the sort of Dalmation who is marked like motion, gone before the sentence ends. Anyone within earshot of Philo eventually hears the theory that humans were just very tall pups with thumbs and bad fur. There is a soft running joke at the soup stalls about Philo and the way doors behave around them. Philo suspects the universe rewards pups who share their snacks and ask the awkward questions. Academic detail: Barely passed pup school with a 1.24 GBS (Gud Boy Scale), an outcome treated locally as either a warning or a small victory depending on who is telling it.