A new travelling companion

I was walking to Pienza on one of the back roads, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, this big, young dog comes bounding up and gives me a sniff over. I gave her a pat and started walking on and she came too, running ahead or off to the sides, drinking from the puddles and jumping in every dam she could find. There were a few houses around but after 10 minutes she had shown no sign of breaking off, so I tried to shoo her off, both in English and what I think was Italian. Apart from putting her ears back when I yelled, she took no notice, and just ran around me and charged ahead again, so we continued. She was having a great time, stopping to wait for me if I took a photo, and exploring everything. After an hour I started to worry what would happen when we came to traffic again? Could I tie her up at the roadside? I had no rope. Would anyone find/help her? I was even starting to wonder if she could come with me all the way.

When we came to a stream with a tiny little footbridge over it I made my stand, growling at her, and throwing a stick in her direction every time she tried to put a foot on the bridge. She seemed to get the idea, even though the stream was only 4 feet wide and she could easily have crossed it if she wanted. With tail between her legs she started to head back. I started on climbing away, and she returned once, so I yelled and carried on again, and she turned tail.

I walked on, missing her company already, hoping she’d find her way home. She had a collar, but no tags. After 15 minutes I was starting to feel relieved that I’d shaken her off, when she bounds up alongside, happy as Larry to see me again.
Once over the stream, the road started to improve, and there were a few houses that I was hoping she might stop to explore. As we went on, we even passed 2 couples each walking the other way, and even though 1 couple stopped and made a fuss of her, she soon came charging back to me. After 3 hours we arrived in Pienza. Fortunately the back roads had avoided all the traffic, as she wandered all over the roads when we got there, and my B&B was right on the edge of town. I left her at the door and explained to the owner that she was lost. After unpacking and a shower, I went out to explore the town. Looking out from the front gate, I could see her a few hundred metres up the road, but I manged to get across the road and out of sight. I watched her, and she came back to the B&B again and sniffed at the door. It breaks my heart to ignore her, but I moved on into town, and when I came back later she was gone.

I hope she’s ok, and I miss her.