As fare jumpers go, this one was small, friendly and fearless.

She crept onboard a TriMet bus at the stop at Southwest Pacific Highway and McDonald in Tigard, undetected at first as the crowded bus of sleepy travelers traveled northeast towards Portland at 5:30 a.m. But another passenger on the

spotted the freeloader.

Clearly a dog lover, she corraled the canine and held onto her, hoping to unite her with her owner.

The woman alerted the bus driver and stayed with the dog, missing her stop so she could hand the dog over to a TriMet supervisor. The dog, who’s about 6 years old, is now at

in Southeast Portland. She has no collar, tags or identifying microchip.

TriMet officials hope the owners will see the picture and claim her.

“I don’t think she’s been living on the streets that long though she apparently knows her way around the city,” said Roberta Altstadt, a spokeswoman for TriMet. “Since she was young enough, no fare was required.”

This is not the first time that animals have freeloaded on TriMet. In 2001, a coyote hopped onto a MAX train and curled up near the window, peering warily as passengers snapped photos.

This canine does not seem as if she came out of the wild.

“She’s really sweet,” said Emily Bailey, a vet assistant at Town and County Animal Hospital. “She has a really nice hair coat. She doesn’t have fleas. She looks like somebody’s been taking good care of her.”

A Jack Russell or terrier mix, she’s being turned over to Washington County Animal Control.

Is she yours?

If so, call animal control at 503-846-7041 and claim her. And when you do, please let us know her name.

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