*sigh* I lasted a day and a half foster free. On my bike ride this morning, this girl ran up to me and started following me on my bike. No owner shouted for her, so I stopped and tried to grab her and then she wouldn't come up to me anymore, just did the hover out of reach thing. I tried for several minutes to get a bungee cord around her neck (the only thing I had on my bike), but no go. She ran off, so I followed again and she started trying to crawl under a fence. I knocked on the door and got prepared to launch into a spay/collar/responsible owner lecture, but the guy who answered the door said it wasn't his dog! He did give me a few treats, though.
A woman across the street saw me and brought over a bag of treats and a leash, but between us we made the stray too nervous and she took off. The woman said she didn't need the leash, so I got my bike and decided the only option left was to see if the dog would follow me home on my bike. She did, including the clusterf**k when we passed the family loading up for a fishing trip with their one leashed dog & one unleashed dog. I was trying to explain that the stray wasn't my dog, but everyone was so busy shouting for the off leash dog that the stray and I just ducked out of there and she kept right behind me.
When I got home, she followed me right up the driveway and into the gate, but the stupid wind blew the gate shut and she spooked and squirted out the gate just as it closed. I opened the gate again, and this time got her far enough into the yard that I could circle behind her and run to the gate to close it.
So, with no warning, Desi got to meet the stray and I got to finally corner her and put a leash on. She is terrified, screams whenever she gets surprised by a touch, and keeps trying to jump on me. I'm not real impressed so far, but assuming there is no owner to be found, I know she's got a crappy chance at a shelter.
Guess I have a new foster.
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p181 ... stray1.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p181 ... stray2.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p181 ... stray3.jpg