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Dog killed, owner injured in coyote attack in O.C.

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Pooh

Karen Sherif was walking her 12-year-old Yorkie, Pooh, on Tuesday morning on their usual route near her home in Laguna Woods.

Pooh, a slow mover, stopped to smell a bench on Via Alhambra, and Sherif walked a few steps ahead. All of the sudden, she heard a yelp and turned around, only to find a coyote with her dog latched in its mouth.

“I just started screaming at the top of my lungs,” said Sherif, 64.

The coyote took off, dragging Sherif into the road by Pooh’s leash. Sherif let go of the leash as she fell, and neighbors rushed out of their homes to help. One called the police, and another ran after the coyote.

But it was too late. Pooh’s body was found about 100 feet away, her neck broken.

Neighbors said the coyote continued to linger, though it eventually left. Paramedics treated Sherif for cuts and scrapes.

The attack is the second in recent months in the small Orange County city in which a dog has been killed and its owner injured by coyotes that live in the nearby brush. In May, a woman was bit on the hand as she tried to save her dog from an attack in the 700 block of Avenida Majorca.

Several residents also have reported cats and dogs being killed by the animals. Police have said the coyotes are becoming noticeably more aggressive.Authorities have set traps for the animals and reached out to residents, distributing flyers warning them to secure trash cans, avoid leaving food out on their porches and to keep their pets inside at night. Many residents take a large stick or golf club with them when they walk their pets, just in case.

But officials said the traps haven’t caught any of the animals, and Sherif said although she had heeded many of the precautions, there wasn’t anything she could have done to save her dog.

“It was during the day, and it was so quick — so terribly quick,” Sherif said. “The coyote was five to seven feet away from me when I turned around and saw [Pooh] in its mouth. I couldn’t have hit it with a stick — it was too late.”

Lt. Jason Kravetz of the Laguna Beach Police Department said authorities asked neighboring areas for help in combating the coyote problem and are still looking for the coyote involved in Tuesday’s attack.

Any resident who comes across a coyote shouldn’t confront it, he said, and should raise their arms and yell to scare it off.

Sherif is also doing her part to warn neighbors so they can protect their own pets. She doesn’t want this to happen to anyone else, but said it seems as though the coyotes are becoming more brazen.

She said she has seen coyotes walk down the middle of the street in the early evening, and they’ve been known to jump the 5-foot walls surrounding the neighborhood’s patios to snatch an animal.

But Sherif said although residents know the coyotes are becoming more aggressive, they can’t predict how close the animals will get. In her case, she had no idea the coyote would take her dog during a 10 a.m. walk.

“I don’t know what would have happened if she had been three feet in front of me. I don’t want to get involved with the coyote myself, but lagging behind me made her vulnerable,” Sherif said of Pooh. “And for that I have to take blame, but she was being a dog, just smelling the bench. I had no way of knowing that the animal was even in the area.”

Woman injured, dog killed in coyote attack

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http://articles.ocregister.com/2011-06-02/news/29626849_1_aggressive-coyote-coyote-attack-male-coyote/2

Woman injured, dog killed in coyote attack

June 02, 2011|BY CLAIRE WEBB

LAGUNA WOODS – Animal services is trying to trap an aggressive coyote that is believed to have killed a small dog and injured a woman last week in the Laguna Woods Village retirement community.

Four box traps have been set out in areas with heavy brush to catch a coyote that has killed one dog and at least five cats in the area in the last week, said Joy Falk, senior animal services officer with the Laguna Beach Police Department’s Animal Services, which serves Laguna Woods.

Falk said cat food is placed inside the box trap and when an animal steps on a pressure-sensitive pedal, the trap door closes. Falk would not say where the traps have been placed to avoid people tampering with them.

Traps have been set out after an elderly woman was walking her small, mixed-breed dog on a leash around 10 a.m. on Saturday on Avenida Majorca and a coyote began attacking the dog, Falk said.

Falk said the woman tried to wrestle the dog away and was bitten in the scuffle – it was unclear if the bite was from the coyote or the dog. The dog was taken to a local veterinarian and later died. The woman had to undergo a series of shots for rabies treatment and is in stable condition, Falk said.

Falk said five cats have been killed in the area of the gated community near Avenida Majorca and Calle Aragon in the last week.

“We think it’s all the same coyote,” Falk said. “It’s gradually been getting more and more assertive in the behavior.”

Falk said residents in the community have reported at least one male coyote – about 45 to 50 pounds, taller than usual and silver grey in color. Falk said normally full-grown coyotes are 35 to 40 pounds.

Coyote populations often live in brushy canyon areas or hillsides and are attracted to sources of food like small pets, pet food and garbage, according to animal services. Falk said animal services typically uses traps where a coyote has been spotted or attacked animals.

Residents have also reported two female coyotes with about four pups in the area west of Moulton Parkway and north of El Toro Road – but Falk said these animals have not shown aggression towards people or pets.

Falk said a male coyote has been spotted following owners with pets on leash walking along Aliso Creek in the community and has been spotted throughout the daylight hours. Falk said several residents reported when they encountered the coyote and used an air horn to scare it off, the animal stopped and began to walk toward them – usually a coyote would be frightened by such noise.

Janet Delgado, 67, of Laguna Woods Village, said a large coyote approached her and her 8-pound terrier mix Happy during a walk on Via Los Altos last week.

“Last week it poked my dog in the side, as if to see ‘is this something I can grab,'” Delgado said. “I was afraid, but it didn’t appear it was going to attack me.”

Bill Azoff, a resident of Avenida Majorca, was walking his 11-year old pug Sammy near Aliso Creek on Wednesday evening. He said he has seen coyotes and usually carries a stick during walks.

“Usually I carry a (golf) club, my number seven iron,” Azoff said. “If I carry the club I feel safe.”

Limit the food source

“We can’t stress enough to the community how they have to be careful right now,” Falk said.

Residents can help limit the food source for a coyote by keeping cats indoors at all times. Small dogs should not be left unattended outside unless they are on an enclosed patio, Falk said.

Owners should carry a walking stick when taking their dogs out for a walk. If you see a coyote approaching, do not turn and run from the animal – instead make loud noises or use a stick to keep the animal away.

Do not leave pet food out. She said do not feed birds or other wildlife in the area for the next month. Falk said feeding coyotes is illegal and residents who choose to feed them could be fined $500.

Report coyote sightings if you see one in the daytime, if a coyote approaches people or attacks pets, Falk said. Call the Laguna Beach Police Department at 949-497-0701.

Contact the writer: 949-454-7363 or cwebb@ocregister.com