Coco and the Coyote

One of our dogs, an aging, overweight Chihuahua named Coco, got quite a scare last Wednesday.

I had gone to the barn and was working on my latest project.  It was nearly time for lunch and I was trying to finish something so I could go eat.

Suddenly Coco was screaming at the top of her lungs, and not barking.  I leaped out the front door of the barn, to find four dogs on the hill next to the driveway.  Wait ... not four dogs ... but Beau, Tinker, and Coco, and a mangy looking coyote.

And the coyote was busily trying to dodge and dive after Coco, with our Boxer Beau hazing the coyote.  I started yelling at the top of my lungs, not knowing what else to do. This apparently had the desired effect on the the coyote, for the animal broke off chasing Coco, and now had to deal with Beau who was now the aggressor.

I called Beau off, and the coyote disappeared over the ridge heading to the back field and safety.

Jumping on the quad, I went to the house to see what I could learn about all the ruckus.  Coco was on the front porch, walking around, and did not show any visible signs of injury.  Tinker, the little tan Chihuahua, was likewise in apparently uninjured shape.

Coco displaying her shaved shoulder and the wound, and Tinker.

When I began looking Coco over, I found a little blood but not nearly what it could have been.  A paper towel and a little wiping and I finally discovered a 3/8 inch wound on top of her back, between her shoulders.  I worked it a little, cleaned it up as best I could, and decided it would only take about one good stitch to close it up nicely.

My first thought was to just clean her up and leave it alone, as it certainly wasn't very serious.  However, my second thought was the lack of cleanliness in the mouth of the coyote.  It was quite obvious one of the canine teeth of the coyote had penetrated her hide, then ripped a 3/8 inch wound, much less than it could have been.

I called the vet, who told me to start for town as soon as I could.  Because the other two (Beau and Tinker) also had need of a trip to the vet for shots, I put everybody in the truck and dashed off to Porterville.

Coco got to stay for the afternoon. The vet said he rinsed and flushed the wound thoroughly, applied some antiseptic, and took the one stitch to close it up.

She is one very luck dog.  The only injury is the one showing.

Several things are disturbing about this.  First, it was 11:30 in the morning, bright sunlight, and not anywhere near what one might consider normal "hunting" time.  Second, the dogs were on the hill between my house and the bridge over the ditch, within 100 ft of the house or less.  Third, the coyote was most probably passing through the pasture below the barn and used the ditch bank as cover.  When Coco saw him coming, she had at least a moment or two to dash for the house, which probably put off the coyote's attack.

Tinker is a very fast dog, and frankly unless the coyote got a jump on her, any hunter would be hard-pressed to catch her.

In chatting with my vet, I was told several pet owners have lost cats to the coyote around the Porterville area.

Bottom line of the tale - Coco stays near the house, and this morning Tinker stayed with her.