Coyote Devilry
My wife and I have heard many second-hand accounts about coyotes cannibalizing domesticated canine pets. More so now that we've moved to the country and often hear coyote packs at night as they celebrate a kill.
The basic story line goes like this: The coyote pack locates a naive, tennis ball chasing, eats-from-a-bowl-with-his-name-on-it dog as a potential victim/meal. The pack hides in nearby cover while a decoy, either a female coyote in estrus or a frolicking playmate, approaches the pet dog and attempts to lure it back to the ambush site. If successful, the pack will kill the dog and share it for dinner.
Because coyotes have been so vilified over the past century, I have been a bit skeptical about pet-luring technique tales. It sounded so much like a campfire spook story that I doubted it was entirely factual, and even now I don't know if it is.
My wife called me from home this morning and she was a bit upset. Based on what she told me, I'm one step closer to being a believer. Here's her story:
She noticed coyote playing in the field near the woods behind our house. It was enthusiastically capering around a small, bedraggled white "lap dog". Side note: We live about a mile away from a local dog shelter. Irresponsible people sometimes abandon their unwanted dogs in the general vicinity, probably because they're unwilling to go through the paper work and assume the dogs will get picked up anyway. End side note.
The little dog was not as enthusiastic about playing as the coyote was, but interested. My wife ran outside and tried to scare the coyote away. She did get the attention of both animals, but the coyote only stared at her and the small dog retreated into the woods. The coyote quickly followed it.
Unfortunately for the fact-gathering aspect of the story, she went back into the house and did everything she could to keep from hearing anything that may further upset her, so if there were "pack attack" sounds coming from the woods she would not have heard them.
However, I would not be surprised if that little white lap dog is never...seen...again.
BOO!