Good Story of the Week; Rescuing a Stray Dog (and some tips)

Yesterday, as I was coming out of our house to walk Tyler and Dash, a young husky dog ran up the driveway. Of course, Tyler went crazy barking so I had to put him in the house. It turns out the dog has gotten loose several times, and our friend Stacey found the wandering dog and brought her home TWICE already (I learned later). Stacey said her name is "Ducky." Stacey is a true hero. 

Now, Here's our morning adventure. 

After I put Tyler and Dash back in the house, I ran back outside to try and wrangle the dog. I saw the skittish young Husky crossing several of the streets in our neighborhood, and she almost got hit by 3 different cars! It was frightening.  

WRANGLING THE DOG - I walked toward the dog, holding out treats in an open hand. I finally managed to get the dog to come over to me. I let her sniff my hand and she took a treat. She was super-skittish. But I showed her other treats, and in a calm voice beckoned her to follow. She did. I managed to open the gate to our fence and got her inside. 

Once in there, I ran around to the front of the house, called to Tom (who had the day off) and he managed to get her to come into the sunporch (and out of the drizzle). Tom watched her for 4 hours in the morning (I was teleworking upstairs)

NEXT STEPS - Social media  posting was critical, so I took 2 photos and posted info to have people contact me: Nextdoor.com, the local newspaper on Facebook, and the City animal shelter. Then I called city Animal Control and within an hour, Mike from AC came over to check the dog for a microchip. There was no chip, no collar, nothing. We asked that she stay with us until Noon (since its less traumatic than a shelter, and Mike agreed). 

NO ONE CLAIMED HER- Mike returned at noon to take the dog to the shelter (after driving her around our neighborhood in case someone was looking for her).She didn't want to go, so I actually had to pick her up and carry her into his van (she sat in the front seat). Mike called me shortly after he took her and said the "owner" (not a pet parent) called to claim the dog (they saw the posting)

UPDATED THE POSTINGS -  After getting the good news, I went back and updated the old postings: (to have a mix of old and new):

Found dog- RETURNING HOME TODAY 4/9/21 M section Maddox Lane Young Female (husky?). 12pm UPDATE_ Big Thanks to Mike of Bowie Animal Control- Who found this dog's home on Madonna Lane. ** ORIGINAL POST" Did you lose your dog? This beautiful female husky(?) was running the streets near Maddox lane and Medina lane. (No tags) She's very sweet and a bit skittish. About 50 pounds and young (like 1 year old). I corralled her this morning at 730am into our backyard. We held her until almost noon and Bowie animal control came by and checked for a microchip and there was none). Mike of Animal Control picked her up.

SOME LESSONS-  If you find a stray dog and take them home: 

1) Put them in a room away from your other dogs

2) Give them water (they could be dehydrated).

3) Speak in a calm voice

4) Populate local websites, like Nextdoor, local shelters, or local newspapers on facebook

5) Call Animal Control (they can scan for a microchip); and then take the dog to a shelter