A dog that had quite an adventure Monday night in San Francisco when it sped along the Muni tracks from West Portal to the Embarcadero was safely located late Tuesday, according to San Francisco Animal Care and Control.

“The dog, Noah, is back safe and sound,” said Deb Campbell from animal control. “Our animal control officers were getting sighting reports called in and were able to direct Noah’s owner to his location.”

Animal control and others worked hours to try and corral the slippery pooch, who began his journey around 7 p.m. Monday and eventually emerged into the night to further elude capture. Noah managed to upset Monday’s commute and bus shuttles had to be arranged to get riders where they needed to go as trains halted in his wake.

Campbell said her team and people from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency pulled out all the stops to try and get the reddish-tan lab mix while he ran amok.

“Some got on the train, some walked along the tracks and were in touch with operators via radio as they followed and tried to capture the dog,” she said. “They used boards to try and block the dog, nets and slip leads to try and corner it.”

But Noah was very skittish and wily and managed to avoid the officers. He continued down through the tunnels with the SFMTA and animal control officers following. The dog was spotted about 8 p.m. on the outbound trackway between Church and Van Ness. Then it was reported on the trackway between Embarcadero station and Ferry Portal, and Muni said shuttle service would continue to be provided until 10 p.m.

At one point the SFMTA wrote on its social media account that “The dog is very determined and elusive.” Then finally at 9 p.m., the agency posted that “our attempts to get the dog were not successful.”

The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime did indeed create a stir on X.

“This dog really ran from west portal to the ferry plaza and didn’t try to jump on the platform or go up any stairs or ANYTHING he was just chillin,” wrote @bruh2246.

“Someone needs to get elected dog catcher in this town,” wrote @dustofthewest. “The longest commute home in my life.”

Noah remained at large as of Tuesday afternoon. That was until the dog catchers decided to use some doggie psychology. If Noah was smart enough to elude capture and hold up a busy urban commute, he was probably too smart to go willingly with animal control. Instead, Noah’s owner was recruited.

Since Noah wasn’t happy with SFMTA or SFACC, the officers felt they should send his person straight to him,” said Campbell.

There was no word on whether he was relaxing at home with a tasty butcher bone.

Bay City News staff writer Ruth Dusseault contributed to this story.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.