Coyote snatches Milton family's dog from back yard

MILTON, Mass. — A family leapt into action over the weekend when their dog was snatched out of their yard by a coyote.

Cally, the 11-yera-old shih tzu, was in the family's backyard in Milton when the coyote grabbed it and ran down the street.

"I woke up to my parents screaming," Ryan Labbe said.

Labbe's dad took off after it and jumped on the coyote, which then dropped the dog.

"He tackled it," Labbe said. "He pushed it and the coyote dropped the dog from its mouth."

Cally was bleeding from its neck and stomach and was taken to an animal hospital, where it stayed for the weekend.

"It was really bad," Labbe said. "She was bleeding from her neck and her abdomen. There was blood everywhere."

The family brought Cally home Sunday, but she still has stitches and tubes to help her heal -- she is expected to be okay.

While the attack happened behind the family's home, the coyote took off down the street towards the woods. Neighbors told FOX25's Blair Miller they've heard the coyotes at night and say there might be a den in the trees.

"They start howling," Steven Kelly said of what he's heard at night.

He knows what happened and won't take any chances when walking his dog.

"Blarney is on the small side so we're not coming down here after dark to this area where the woods are," he said. "We're staying up there."

Animal control is looking into the incident, but doesn't have a solution yet.

Cox Media Group