It’s been raining cats and dogs. One of them, a nervy Shih-Tzu Pomeranian cross, turned up overnight. She probably sought shelter during last night’s fearful winds and torrential rain.

My partner tends to rise much earlier than I. He discovered the dog cowering and shivering on the sofa on the back deck and fed her some milk… followed by a couple of whisked eggs with pieces of bread… and then some chopped pork fillet. This from a man who resolutely does not want a dog.

By the time I got up, the dog was curled up on the sofa, her nose tucked under her tail, muddy marks left on whatever she’d touched. She’s still there now. Every time I open the back door I startle her and she gets up and moves to the edge of the sofa, ready to bolt.

We first saw her some weeks ago, walking on the road as we drove into town. She seems to have no road sense at all, a common failing in most country dogs.

Remembering a ‘lost dog’ notice in the local paper, we tried to round her up. We called to her, whistled and followed her some way up the road but she ran off. We hoped that she wasn’t the same lost dog but from the description we vaguely remembered from the ad, we thought that she probably was.

Last weekend, as we were driving into town, we saw her again, walking down the middle of the road. I pulled over and we called and whistled but, again, she ran away. She briefly visited our garden on Tuesday but took off as soon as she saw us. She’s probably only here now because of the weather last night and the food this morning.

She isn’t the first stray to whom we’ve given shelter and food. The first was a gorgeous little dog, very similar to our latest temporary pet but lighter in colour. She stayed a couple of days. Like the latest, she was tired, filthy and starving. On her second day here she allowed me to comb her and cut out the burrs she’d collected, to trim the long matted dreadlocks around her ears and to give her a bath.

A keen-eyed friend, who knew we were looking after the stray, noticed a sign near the garage in town and passed the owner’s phone number onto us. After my call, the owner arrived with her delighted young daughter to collect the much doted upon pet.

Cuddling the dog, the little girl noticed the dog’s lack of dreadlocks. She drew in a sharp breath but didn’t say a word as she exchanged meaningful glances with her mother. Despite the dog having lost what I later realised had been an essential hairdressing component, the little girl was thrilled to have her dog back and the dog was more excited than I thought her capable.

The mother told me that the dog had accompanied her ex partner while he’d been working on the far side of Mt Franklin. The dog had wandered off, eventually arriving at our place a few days later. No doubt the ex was in the dog house for quite a while after that.

Another stray – a beautiful terrier – found its way here during a thunderstorm. While he shivered and cowered, I tried to calm him. Luckily he was wearing a tag, so I called the council, gave them the dog’s registration number and my phone number, and they contacted the owner.

The owner called and soon after that arrived to collect the dog who, he said, was usually confined to his own property, just up the road. During thunderstorms, though, the dog tended to panic and escape.

In an effort to reunite our current stray with her owner, I phoned the local paper and asked the helpful receptionist if she’d search a few back editions of the classifieds to find the ‘lost dog’ ad again. Within minutes, she’d confirmed the dog’s description and given me the owner’s number but when I called he was out, probably at work. I left a message and we’re now awaiting his call.

In Victoria – and probably elsewhere – there are legal requirements that come with dog ownership. Click here and you’ll find them. The cat in the photo on that website’s banner reminds me of Woody Allen’s paraphrase: ‘The lion shalt lie down with the lamb… and the lamb shalt be very, very nervous.’

Much like our anxious little stray.