Large coyote attacks dog in yard

[grammafreddy]

http://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelow ... og-in-yard

Large coyote attacks dog in yard
by Adam Proskiw - Kelowna - Story: 97561
Sep 2, 2013 / 5:22 pm

Early Monday morning, at around 6:30 a.m., Liana Cecconi was awakened by some unusual barking coming from her two dogs that were in the fenced yard of her Peters Road home in West Kelowna.

“I looked through my glass door and I saw Daphne lying on the ground, not moving at all,” said Liana.

“Then there was this one big coyote standing over her. I thought for sure she was dead at that point.”

The dog was not dead, but her four-year-old Miniature Pinscher had received serious injuries including abdominal punctures, a collapsed lung, multiple cuts and was in need of immediate emergency attention.

When Liana ran out and shouted at the coyote, he stood his ground, even as her second dog, a Miniature Pinscher/Jack Russell mix, circled.

It wasn’t until Liana’s boyfriend came out of the house with a metal pipe that the coyote jumped the 7’ fence encircling the yard and joined another mature coyote that was waiting with two pups on the other side of the fence.

Liana gathered up Daphne, who was still breathing, and rushed her to the Birch Animal Hospital in Kelowna.

“I went out there to go save the dog and it was very aggressive towards me,” said Liana.

“I just thought maybe people in the neighbourhood should be warned.”

The coyotes extreme size, estimated to be that of a full-grown German Shepherd, and aggressive, fearless nature convinced Liana to call Animal Control.

“Not even a 7’ fence stopped this guy. I was very surprised.”

“We’ve seen a couple of coyotes around here, but they were very small.”

“This one was a much bigger.”

Daphne had emergency surgery Monday afternoon and her condition is listed as stable. She will remain under observation in the clinic for 48 hours.

That's pretty big for a coyote. Is it possible this might be a wolf?

[Anonymous123]

There is an unfixed female shepherd that has been running with the coyotes on the west side of the lake for the last five years or so. Could be a descendant.

[matai]

A 7 feet fence?

The other day my boss' dog was chased over by a fox... fox was half the size of the dog... Dog was running like crazy to escape, barking like in danger and scared as hell.

The fox ran away when it saw me. Dog was safe.

Now there's a black mama bear & two cubs hanging around...

[grammafreddy]

That fence is farther away than it appears. There is a matching low fence in front of it - maybe bordering a flower bed or something. Look about knee level and you can see it.

[matai]

I saw a coyote the other day in the canyon bordering the Connector Highway near the Visitor Centre.

Shall we be concerned, as human, for our safety as well if we wander in the woods?

[spg]

Significant variation in coyote size in Okanagan. Killed one of our dogs last year, tore up another, they hunt in the wind around farm.

Peachland resident had extremely similar attack on Jack Russell two years ago while with dog in fenced yard.

Wolf dwarfs shepherd, makes coyote look like cat; saw wolf here last year at Nordic trails/McCullough lake in snow - a wolf you might mistake for a deer, but not a coyote.

Coyote are long in the legs, light in body, typically 10-15 pounds here but look much bigger; largest for me was just over twenty pounds but looked MUCH larger like shepherd. No bag limit on coyotes and I strongly recommend people who are concerned obtain their BC resident hunter number and harvest coyotes. There is no bag limit but mid-summer is closed for harvest.

My wife's dog died in my arms, same injuries as described in article, but bled out before veterinarian had a shot. Coyotes have a purpose, and are very useful for controlling rodents, but population is peaked again and old-timers say numbers seem similar to mid-seventies. A few I have harvested have mange, so they may face 'natural' reduction in numbers. We probably have thirt to fifty coyotes active around our farm right now in competing packs, but they are staying clear of our are for now.

[Bsuds]

Rare but they have been known to attack humans.

[rubato]

Is it possible that it was a coywolf? I live in Summerland and have seen a coyote easily the size of my largest German Shepherd dog lope across my lawn and then into my gully. There are coyote wolf hybrids called coywolves in eastern Canada. Pictures I have seen of them look more like the one on my lawn than the coyotes I am used to seeing in the Okanagan.

[bob vernon]

A few years ago we had a similar animal in our subdivision in Vernon. I saw it several times and he was almost certainly a coyote that had some large dog in his ancestry. He had far less fear of people than a full blooded coyote. He finally vanished after a couple of years.

[Anonymous123]

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/meet-the-coywolf.html

[Rwede]

http://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelowna/97561/Large-coyote-attacks-dog-in-yard

That's pretty big for a coyote. Is it possible this might be a wolf?

Yes. It could be a yearling wolf. They are getting bolder. Watch your pets closely, folks.

[omisimaw]

the 7’ fence encircling the yard

Unless the guy standing in front of the fence is 9' tall doubt the 7 ft. height.

In any event the little dog has passed and for that my condolences ... losing a member of your fur family is never easy, no matter what the circumstance.

I hear the dogs out around 5:30 on and owners have to remember that the wildlife is still very active at dawn and dusk.... easy to get out of bed and open a door

Keep your buddies inside until later on when humans are up and leaving for work/school... the wildlife tend to move on when humans are around.

[Whyme2]

My neighbours little dog was out barking before 6:00am this morning and woke us up. Where's the Coyote when you need it.

[grammafreddy]

Unless the guy standing in front of the fence is 9' tall doubt the 7 ft. height.

Do you not see the shorter fence in front of the taller one?

[spg]

Very sorry for the loss your dog Daphne.