So this morning I received a phone call from my parents who live near Copley saying that our family dog was attacked the other night in my parents backyard. Henry is a 20 pound Shetland sheep dog known as a”sheltie”. Henry is the best dog ever-well behaved, smart, loyal and loving so I was anxious to go over and see how he was doing and the extent of his injuries. Who attacked the dog? A coyote.
Upon my arrival I was in absolute shock to see the 30+ stitches and horrid wounds all over his little body (too gruesome to show you pictures), but believe me when I say that Henry is lucky to be alive! The vet thinks that there was possibly two or more coyotes that attacked/mauled him and that having so much fur and being a fast dog saved his life. Coyotes are pack animals and hunt in pairs.
So after I wiped away a few tears and gave Henry some lovin’ I began to wonder why coyotes are invading neighborhoods in Copley? The answer seems to be from all the construction in Fairlawn due to the new building of Walmart/Sams Club on Rothrock Rd/Cleveland Mass Rd. Apparently packs of coyotes and other wildlife were living there have been now been displaced due to the construction. There have been many sightings of coyotes near that area and along highway 77/76/224 the past few weeks since construction began. January-March is also mating season for coyotes so they are on the move and will be more active in their preying/hunting.
I am sharing this story with you to warn you that precautions need to be taken when you are letting out your furry family members to do their business. As you know I am a HUGE animal lover and would never wish harm to any one of God’s creatures, but I also think that safety is #1 priority and after seeing what a coyote is capable of, I am concerned for pets who spend a lot of time outside or who live outside year round (which I am not a fan of). Thankfully coyotes stay away from humans except for two incidents in 1981, 2009 (in California) but please watch your pets!
Thankfully Henry will be okay and will heal but I for one am not a fan of coyotes right now and hope that I don’t hear of any more incidents.
