Puppy Attacked by Coyote in Oswego

When you have a fence, two of them to be exact, you don't expect a coyote to be able to get into your yard.

But that's exactly what happend to Oswego resident Sharon Arnold at her home on Shore Court, near Route 31 and Light Road.

Around 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning a coyote jumped her four-foot fence after bypassing an 8-foot fence that borders the backyard of her home and attacked her 7-month-year-old yellow lab mix puppy.

“I was just in shock,” said Arnold, who witnessed the coyote approaching her puppy, Sophia. “In the nine-years we’ve lived here I’ve never even seen a coyote.”

On Saturday evening Arnold and her husband, Stephen, heard noises down by the train tracks, which Stephen identified as coyotes howling. But that was the first time they’d even heard coyotes in the area.

“I saw the thing on her, it was definitely attacking her,” recalled Arnold of the coyote that morning. “I started screaming and grabbed two pots and just started banging them. The coyote got off her.”

Arnold’s husband grabbed a baseball bat and went after the coyote, which jumped the 4-foot chain link fence and disappeared.

Arnold said the puppy has, “a minor scrape with some blood,” and was heading to the vet that morning as a precaution.

Now though, the family isn’t sure what to do.

Arnold said they called animal control, who said that coyotes are wildlife and not domestic so they would not be able to help.

The Oswego police were called in and a deputy walked around the property, said Arnold, but could not do much as the coyote had left the property.

Arnold believes the coyote may have burrowed under the 8-foot fence, but did not spot any obvious holes.

She then called a local wildlife organization, who said she and the homeowner behind her would need to lay traps, which could cost $600-$800.

“I don’t have that kind of money,” said Arnold.

Despite having a fenced in backyard, Arnold said she no longer feels it is safe for her sons, 5 and 7 years old, to play.

“I can’t let my kids play in my own back yard,” she said. “Not until I know they’re safe.”

If you see a coyote...

Coyotes typically come out at night. If you see a coyote during the day, that's an indication the animal may be bolder and therefore more likely to attack. If you ever find yourself in this situation, the study recommends you yell, wave your arms and try to throw something at the coyote. Never run away!

While coyotes have been known to attack pets, the Cook County Coyote Project says coyotes do not frequently attack dogs, and when they do, they tend to be smaller dogs. Cats, on the other hand, may represent more alluring targets. The vast majority of a coyote's diet is made up of mice and rats.

The Chicago area has seen a significant increase in the coyote population since the 1990s, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources estimates there are more than 30,000 coyotes in Illinois.

The University of Illinois Extension offers the following tips for living with coyotes — and dealing with any problems that may occur:

• To help protect small children and pets, all possible food for coyotes should be removed from around the homes in yourneighborhood.
• Coyotes are always on the lookout for food. Coyotes are looking for the mice, rabbits and birds that bird feeders and petfood left outside attracts. If you do not want the coyotes near your home, stop feeding other wildlife and leaving pet foodoutside. Make sure ripe fruit is picked and garbage is secured in containers.
• Keep a close eye on small children and pets whenever they are outside and a coyote is in your neighborhood. Consider using a dog run or fence to protect small pets.
• From a distance, try to scare the coyote away by being loud and throwing something or spraying water towards the coyote.
• Alert your neighborhood and the local municipality as soon as a problem develops witha coyote.
• Coyotes are a permanent fixture in Illinois’ rural, suburban and urban areas. Seeing a coyote(s) cross a field, backyard,golf course, road, etc. does not necessarily constitute a problem or  a dangerous situation for  humans or domestic animals. Target the responsible coyote(s) when a pattern of "undesirable” behavior develops. Usually it will be easier to change human and domestic animal use of an area than to capture a coyote.
• Coyote population reduction (removing some or all of the coyotes in an area) is usually unrealistic and always temporary. Removal of coyotes requires time, effort and funding. If removal of a coyote is deemed necessary, hire a person withcoyote removal experience who is licensed by the IDNR. Coyote removals approved by the IDNR usually involve the use of cage (live) traps or padded foot-hold traps.