How Do You Earn a Roaming Stray Dog's Trust?by Courtney Mroch | More from this Blogger 25 Feb 2008 11:44 AM Friday I wrote about the elusive stray dog roaming our neighborhood that I've seen every now and then for the past few weeks. I told Wayne about how she had ventured up to our front porch on Friday, but how she took off the second I tried to open the door. He'd never seen her -until Saturday morning. He offered to take me out for breakfast and that's an offer I never refuse. As we headed out of our subdivision, Wayne asked, "Is that your dog?" I looked and saw Ms. Thing (other than being skittish, I haven't spent enough time with her to give her a better name) across the street, much to my dismay. (People fly down the road outside our subdivision. It's not uncommon to see deer, squirrel, or skunk carcasses, so I worry whenever I see loose dogs.) She was carrying something in her mouth that looked like a stick. And she looked fairly content. "Maybe she just wants to be a stray," Wayne said. "Seems she knows her way around okay." Still...that's no life for a dog. No regular meals, no place to go when it gets cold, hot, or stormy, no one to play with or love her... Doesn't seem okay to me. Seems lonely. Friday, I had left a few treats out for her. Trouble was, Murph with his Super Sniffer found them when he went to help me bring in groceries that afternoon. But I won't be deterred. My Plan for Ms. Thing 1. Continue leaving out treats for her to find in the yard. (When Murph's not watching and replenishing as he --or maybe others-- snatch them.) 2. Put out a fresh bowl of water and food in the backyard each morning. 3. To say hello and talk to her when I see her but not approach her anymore. (And to make it a point to go outside when she's on our lawn so she'll associate me with this house.) My hope is that she'll learn to trust me. We'll see if it works. I'll keep you posted! Related Articles You're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto: 5 Steps to Help a Stray Pet Find Home Learn more about Courtney Mroch  Courtney Mroch is a wife, a proud pet parent, and a writer. She's been with her husband, high school sweetheart Wayne Pryor, over 20 years, married 11 of those. She's "mom" to Mr. Meow, a.k. Relevantpets tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags dogs, loose dogs, roaming dogs, stray dogs, strays Discuss this article
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