So yesterday evening there was a stray dog (chow/lab maybe? big, furry, yellowish with tail curled over back) running around, barking at everything. Well, he continued running and barking ALL NIGHT LONG. This morning I'm home sick from work again and I hear barking and shouting. I look outside and he's barking and moving towards kids walking to school. Very fearful body language, but forwardly fearful. I was afraid he was going to hurt somebody or get hurt (running back & forth across street, people throwing rocks at him to make him go away) so I called the police and let them know what was going on.
I then went out to try to catch him or at least hold him in one yard until police showed up. I started about 15' away from him and just gently lobbed handfuls of treats at him, not making any attempt to touch him even when he came close. So I'm doing this and getting ready to start reaching for his collar (with tags!) when a police car rolls up followed by three unmarked white vans. SWAT and US Marshals pour out of the vans. My first thought (being sick and freshly out of bed!) is, "gee, this seems like overkill for a stray dog." And then they surround the house right across from mine and do their thing. One of the US Marshals comes over and shows me a pic, says my neighbor has a warrant for Felonious Assault, blah blah blah. I tell him I'm a PO and we start chatting about people we know, getting laid off, etc. And then he starts trying to help me catch the dog, . Goes back to his van and gets out his own bag of treats! I finally get a leash on this poor dog and call the number on his tag. Of course get some ghetto voicemail with rap music blaring, no talking, just an ENTIRE FREAKING SONG before the beep. So I leave a message saying their dog will be at the pound and they need to go claim him. Police officer in animal control van rolled up a few minutes later so the three of us cajoled and manhandled this dog into the van.
I'm beat!