GLOUCESTER, Mass. — Gloucester police are monitoring the Rocky Neck neighborhood after a coyote killed a family’s dog Sunday night.
The 10-month-old, 12-pound beige poodle, named Skippy, had been outside on a leash attached to the front porch of his home on Sumac Lane. Shortly after 9 p.m., a coyote snatched him, pulling him off the leash and running away.
Skippy’s owner, 75-year-old Sarah Olsen, ran outside with her daughter after her granddaughter shouted for help.
“When I went to get him, I saw the coyote, and the coyote was staring at me, and I didn’t know what to do,” 7-year-old Lauryn O’Donnell, the granddaughter, said. “I told my mom that there was a coyote out there. My mom screamed and went out there, trying to get Skippy out of his mouth, and I was so scared.”
Olsen, as well as Lauryn’s mother, Karin O’Donnell, tried to save Skippy, but the coyote turned on them, forcing them to hide in their cars, they said.
“The coyote continued to come after me, run around the corner here, had no fear whatsoever,” O’Donnell said. “I ran down the street, over to a restaurant where a woman had told me she saw the dog running.”
There, she found Skippy badly injured and bleeding, his jaw crushed.
“I tried to pray, because I didn’t want Skippy to die,” Lauryn said.
But Skippy’s injuries were too extensive; the family had him euthanized in their home.
“I’m sad, really sad, because I loved him. I had him for 10 months, and he’s been such a precious little dog,” Olsen said, in tears. “It’s just the saddest thing that could possibly happen.”
O’Donnell is urging other families to take precautions, not only for the safety of their pets, but their small children, too.
“I’m hoping that nobody else will ever have to experience something as horrific as this,” O’Donnell said. “Who knows what can happen next? And with all these young children out here playing all the time, it’s hard to know.”
Tip from the Gloucester Police Department on preventing coyote attacks:
- Do not approach, feed, pet, or try to interact with wildlife, including coyotes, foxes, or other wild animals.
- It is always a good idea to leash pets at all times if outdoors. Small cats and dogs are seen as prey and larger dogs, competition.
- Don't hesitate to scare or threaten coyotes with loud noises, bright lights, or water sprayed from a hose.
- Cut back brushy edges, as these areas provide cover for coyotes and their prey.
- Secure your garbage. Coyotes raid open trash materials and compost piles. Secure your garbage in tough plastic containers with tight-fitting lids and keep them in secure buildings when possible. Take out trash when the morning pick up is scheduled, not the previous night. Keep compost in secure, vented containers, and keep barbecue grills clean to reduce attractive odors.
- Keep bird feeder areas clean. Use feeders designed to keep seed off the ground, as the seed attracts many small mammals coyotes prey upon. Remove feeders if coyotes are regularly seen around your yard.
Cox Media Group