My wake up call this morning!

by Michele Peddle
(Solina, Ontario. Canada)

One of our readers, Michelle, sent us this report of her Coyote sighting - I live in the Hamlet of Solina in Southern Ontario. Our 2 acres are surrounded by streams, open fields and rolling hills. As I just found out, is the perfect setting for Coyotes.

Although we hear them frequently during the night, I have never seen one until this morning, January 20th 2010. At 7:30 am today, I was awoken by a sound under my bedroom window that I had never heard before.

I can only describe it as a cross between a quick yip of a dog and the sound a hawk makes. My 2 small dogs who were sleeping with me at the time became very upset. I got out of bed and opened my curtain to see a Coyote, quite large, definitely not a pup, standing in my yard.

Awestruck and speechless, all I could do was stand there and watch it. After standing for a number of minutes in the same spot, it immediately tracked the exact perimeter of our property, standing now and again for a few seconds, and eventually went into my neighbors 6 acre property, directly to their 1 acre pond which is full of Canada geese.

Although I realize they are usually non-confrontational and quite beautiful to look at, I am alarmed at the fact I can no longer let my 2 small dogs out without constant supervision.

The fence around our pool would in no way stop this creature from jumping over and attacking my dogs, or my 2 cats which spend time outdoors with us in the summer, supervised of course.

I have friends who have lost their beloved pets to Coyotes, and although there is nothing that can be done about them being on my property, I can't help but feel afraid and somewhat violated.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, yes, Coyotes can be a threat to animals such as cats and small dogs - I hope yours stay safe!