an alien visitor in the local park

We've just come home from a visit to Willsmere Park, and when I sat down to look at my photos, I clicked on a close-up of strange bumps on a tree.

But what was this? The computer's face recognition program thought there was a face peeping out of one of the bumps!

Da Dum (creepy music rising to a crescendo)... when I zoomed in on the little bump, it looked like...

an alien dog.

Do you see the ear hanging down at the right? The long line of the muzzle? 

I think it might be a visitor from Penny's planet of origin, perhaps the Canine Leader who sent her to explore Earth and see if it was fit for Doggy Colonisation.