Coyotes and Knives

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

So my Dh always takes Chloe on an extra long walk in the evening which usually means going to a park about 4 blocks up. It has a nice track to walk around the whole park. Baseball diamonds in the middle and around the perimeter is a skinny section of woods. The far side has a big section of woods. Well, this guy we know always had his dog off leash in the park (not allowed) and now he won't even let the dog in the park. He lives in a house facing the park and saw Dh going there after dusk. He yelled out his door for him to come over so he and Chloe did. He said that there are deer running through like nothing and COYOTES!

Our vet receptionist was in the park with her young golden retriever and out of nowhere a coyote came running towards them and when there's one there's more. Sure enough 3 more came running after them and THEY ATTACKED HER DOG!!! Oh my gosh, I do not know what I would do in that situation! I don't know anymore of the story until I see her again but the guy said the dog needed multiple stitches. This was a very happy go lucky never listen to his mom type of dog and now I guess he doesn't leave her side which is so sad. He's probably terrified to go outside but no more park or long road by the park for us. Chloe loves that park! I'm wondering what anyone else would do if this happened and how they would get the dog out of there? Do you know what you SHOULD do in this situation?

Now my husband just called and asked what happened down the road, didn't I hear flight for life and all the sirens??? No (I woke up an hour later than I wanted to but I think I would have heard.) I guess one block away there was a stabbing!

My neighborhood is pretty quiet with some young, some old, some good, some not so good people in it. He wants me to go up there and see what happened. NOT! The news is on the way who knows if the person is still out there and what the motive would be. I'm real upset they passed the concealed carry law here because of stuff lke this. I guess my point is I'm wishing I lived somewhere else right now. I know these 2 things can happen anywhere and it's nowhere as serious as Jane's alligator situation. I think I will be staying in this morning.

I am so grateful for our 6 foot fence where the gates are always locked.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think the noise thing you bought would help. Things like pepper sprays, mace, etc. require you to be pretty close to the coyote. I'd prefer to try to scare them enough to stay a distance away from me.

Regarding the domestic incident, remember, those things can happen in the most upscale neighborhoods, too. Think about all the celebrity murder cases, lol.

Stay safe!

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

THANK YOU EVERYONE for all the great advice.

I never leave them in the yard alone even with the 6 ft fence. We still take them potty on their leashes so they don't mess around out there. I'm not ready for a gun but am dikigent about locking the fence gates and all the locks on the door when I'm here alone. It's not the worst neighborhood but it's nothing like it was when I was younger!

Awhile back I bought a noise thing from Menards, it's a little keychain size square thing that has a pin in it-if you pull the pin it makes a really loud noise until you put the pin back in it. I wonder if that would work on more than people? Where do you get pepper spray at??? Lauri-I have seen that stuff for other dogs that your husband uses. Again, glad all that is ok here now thanks for all the help as usual!!!

By the way after quite a few hours of stand off with the swat team they finally got the suspect out of the house and in custody-the victim is now out of the hospital. All those people on that block had to stay in and couldn't leave for work or anything!

[Leslie and Halas]

I'm glad that guy was able to give your DH a warning about the coyotes. I hope that golden retriever recovers quickly. I never walk Halas in the field behind our condo after dark. There are some woods across the field, and I'm always worried about critters after dark. I've never seen anything but deer and moles in the field, but I see all kinds of critter poop, so who knows what's out there. Maybe you should have something with you on walks, even in the daylight. Maybe pepper spray, bear spray, something like that.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

We live near woods and wetlands so we have Coyotes. Everyone here says they won't bother us, now I don't believe them. I wonder if mace would work on a Coyote. Last night they were really howling. Daisy is afraid of noises, wind, leaves....we stay really close to home at night but now it will be closer.

Jennifer, be safe, and consider a gun for safety, but be sure to take a class first.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Jennifer - I know how scary this can be and it IS as serious as gators - anything that can hurt our doods or us IS serious.  Please try to walk with others, make lots of noise and don't go after dark.  Not sure what gun law you are talking about in relation to the crime in your area, are you saying that you wish you could C.C. and can't?  Just remember that it is not illegal to keep a loaded firearm in your home, if it would make you feel safer than I would suggest it but please get the proper training.  Stay safe.

[Sharon & Monty]

GEEZE US COYOTES!  not funny stuff.  I'm unglued cause of a bear, but I really think his visit is not frequent.  we do however about the pitbull mix dogs next door. :(  We fenced our yard with poor quality fence cause that is all that Monty needs to stay. but you know I worry about them.  they have no fence and we live right next to a very high volumne roadway.  To me anyone that would let their dog just wander in the yard is irresponsible.  I dont know, unless we live with 10ft high fences with electric or something....our babies are vulerable no matter where they live.  I live on a mountain top, with 2 neighbors.  :(

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

This is so scary Jennifer!! I haven't encountered coyotes although we do have them around our neighborhood too. They seem to be everywhere anymore!  I do carry pepper spray when I walk and wouldn't hesitate to use it on them but it could be tough if they have you outnumbered!  I would be looking for a new walking route too or a new home!!!! Be safe!!!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

We've had coyotes in our area.  A few years ago, we were in the midst of a drought so the problem was even worse as the wildlife tended to come closer to civilization looking for water and food.  Fortunately, we've had enough rain lately that most of the animals are staying up in the hills behind our house.  We have had a few raccoons around our place, which freak me out enough.  I couldn't handle coming face to face with a coyote.  So happy we have a secure, fenced-in area for Sedona.

 

Be safe!!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

How scary! I wonder if the stuff my husband carries on his bike rides in case of a dog attack (lots of people in PA do not leash their dogs) would prevent a coyote from attacking. I think it is called Dog Halt or something.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We have coyotes in our area, and they have attacked a few large dogs. They've also killed a few small dogs. All of those cases involved invisible fencing, with the dogs left unsupervised in the yards.

JD and I had a run-in with a coyote a few years ago. It's true that they do usually travel in groups, or at least pairs. In this case, they had just made a kill, probably a rabbit, and were probably heading back to their home base when we happened to cross paths. They came running out from behind my neighbor's house, and my neighbor had opened his door to call a warning to us when they came running at us. The female continued running to wherever she was headed, but the male stopped and confronted us from a short distance away. He was staring at us with his head lowered and did not look at all afraid.

JD somehow knew those were not dogs, thank goodness, because he froze; this was back when he was not well-trained and still reactive fear issues. Standing still was the best thing he could have done. My neighbor started banging on a pot from his front porch (because they can sometimes be scared off by loud noises) as we very slowly backed away. You should not turn your back on a coyote, this information is posted on signs at the forest preserves, too. You should slowly back away from them, and making noise (yelling, etc) is good, too. We had to walk kind of backwards/sideways the rest of the way home, with the coyote staring us down the whole time.

Now, I carry a metal New Year's Eve noisemaker when we walk at night, although I should probably carry it in the daylight too, because even though they're supposed to be nocturnal, it's not unusual to see them out during the day around here. They're hungry, and they are not afraid of dogs or people. They are also often protecting a nest (or den, or lair, or whatever it's called) with babies.

I hopew things turn out okay with whatever happened on the next block and no one is seriously injured.