A Coyote Took My Bruiser

[rij73]

Oh, I'm so sorry. This must be very traumatic for you! I can't imagine losing my dog in such a sudden and violent way. Cyberhugs to you... There's nothing more I can say. Very tragic...

[emily_in_nc]

All I can say is I'm so very sorry. I would be devastated if I lost my Paisley that way (or any way, of course, but a coyote attack is particularly gruesome).



Tears in my eyes for you....

Emily

[Lifesgreat]

((((bunnydodger))))

[SlowButSteady]

I'm so sorry for your loss. From personal experience, I know how horrifying that is.

My little blue manx Nina met the same fate. If I had let her in when she was pawing at the door instead of using the bathroom first, she'd still be here. I saw the coyote run away. Nina got away from it but ran under our barn to die. We were lucky to have found her body there. She was the neatest cat.

Coyote-pet interactions are probably worse in the suburbs and cities than in the country. They are escalating, as humans displace more and more rural land. Why wouldn't they like cities? Cities are like a smorgasbord for coyotes (and 'possums and raccoons) with garbage, outdoor pet food and pets upon which to dine. There have been a few reported cases of 'yotes jumping small children (with no human fatalities reported...yet). Locally, we have some hanging out by a day care and they are so habituated to people and traffic that they have lunged at some area horsemen.

Firearm ordinances generally keep city folk from even firing warning shots, whereas the coyotes country cousins are, shall we say, pressured a lot more by humans and have a healthier respect for us.

Where legal, a little pressure, is a good thing. It keeps them from becoming too nonchalant around our homes. I am a DVM with some advanced training in wildlife managment & disease. I like them--like seeing them and hearing them and respect them as an extremely successful species, but I don't want them to feel welcome in our yard and draw the line at them coming on the porch and making off with our (sealed) barrel of cat food, which they have done off and on for a couple of years. When I see them in my yard, they are to be pressured.

My 23lbs dog Robert Earl isn't allowed to even walk to the car off leash, and he's closely supervised in our back yard, which is chain-link fenced.

[roadie gal]

I am so sorry. What a terrible way to lose a pet.

I live in coyote territory, too. I've seen them crossing my driveway in broad daylight. That's why my cats are indoor kitties. I couldn't bear to lose one that way.

Big hugs to you.