Valentine - a feral dog in need of a home or foster

I met Valentine sometime in March, when she was still with her "siblings" in the shelter. They had been picked up together and this sweetie was considered feral. She loved playing with dogs though. Her canine friends have since been adopted, and Valentine too was at a foster home for a while. When she came back, she was more shy and scared than ever...and even nipped at other dogs. I have been visiting her at the shelter 3 or 4 times a week, just for a few minutes, for the last 2 weeks. She must be about 8-9 months old now, she definitely matured since I had first seen her. She is a shy beauty, studying with attention what is going on. She is very food driven and still does not like to be touched....she tolerates it.  She is scared of any fast movement. She looks at you with the most beautiful brown eyes. After being out with some nice dogs for a few times, she again plays well with them. What an adventure it would be to gain her trust - learn to enjoy human touch and company and have her live a happy dog life as someone's special friend.

I bring her a couple of liver treats, or hot dog bits on my visits, and she really likes those. She will come to get them. She used to play with a ball way back when she first came, but now I don't see her play anymore....mostly I don't see any toys. Today - when she saw me - she actually wagged her tail a little - a first.
As to what kind of dog she is: one who needs a special home with someone who has a lot of patience. A brother or sister dog who is well trained and people oriented would be of great help. Dogs definitely do learn from each other. She will run away if she gets a chance...so a secure fence is a must.But really, only on leash for quite some time.
Valentine is at the Sammies Friends shelter in Penn Valley, California.  Sammie's Friends at Pet finder
For more info contact ruth@sammiesfriends.org.
She brought up 2 interesting points for me: how to rehabilitate a feral dog and also the issue of stray dogs in the USA.
For me, with my few minutes long visits at the shelter, it's simply: Go slow - no sudden moves, reward with food for behavior you want: a step towards you,  coming all the way to where I am sitting, tolerating waving of your hand or other objects,  getting her used to getting up and back down movements. As I said, she needs a special home and someone with a lot of patience.

There is a gal on facebook who is currently handling a semi-feral stray rescue. Angel-a from Painter Strays.
This is not bad on feral dogs.