By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Lilly, a 15-pound Löwchen, one of two dogs belonging to the Ford family of Crest Road in Middlebury, went out her little dog door about 11 p.m. Saturday, April 25, to use the bathroom before her family went to bed. Lilly’s family was chatting in the kitchen, just feet away from where she was in the back yard.
Mara Ford said Lilly barked a bit. Then everything was quiet. Mara’s husband, Chip, went outside to get Lilly, but she wasn’t inside her territory, the inner loop of a two-loop dog fence. Alarmed, the family started searching for her. They found her lying on the ground some 20 or 30 feet beyond her loop, bloody, but still alive and breathing.
“I think the coyote was carrying her in its mouth,” Mara Ford said, “and when the coyote crossed the fence boundary, it got shocked and dropped her and she managed to crawl away a bit. Then we came outside and scared the coyote away.”
Gently picking Lilly up, the family scrambled to wrap Lilly in a towel, alert the Cheshire emergency vet that they were on the way, and drive off into the night hoping to save their beloved 12-year-old dog’s life.
Lilly
Initially, the emergency veterinarian thought surgery could save her. On closer examination, however, the veterinarian realized the puncture wounds and crushing injuries to Lilly’s neck were much more severe than at first thought. The surgery would be difficult, dangerous and painful for Lilly, and the recovery could pose significant problems. The family made one of its most difficult decisions ever – to have the veterinarian end Lilly’s suffering.
“We went from preparing for surgery to selecting urns,” Mara said. And because of the grief her family experienced this week, she contacted the newspaper in hopes her family’s story would alert our readers to the danger of coyotes and help them avoid a similar experience.
Mara said two things about the incident shocked her: that it was so close to her home and that it was totally quiet. “The proximity of everything is what is frightening. You don’t expect it to happen so close to home,” she said. “And you think there will be a lot of noise from the coyotes. Instead, there was total silence. I’m so glad we were in the kitchen when it happened.”
The feature photo with this article shows Mara Ford holding the other family dog, Holly, near the back of her house. She is standing on the spot where she believes Lilly was attacked by coyotes Saturday night.
Middlebury Police Chief James Viadero said two dogs went missing on Tower Road about six months ago, and coyotes are suspected in their disappearance. He advised residents to keep their pets on leashes and not confront a coyote if they see one. If you have a coyote problem, you can contact the police department, and animal control will respond.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) flyer says Connecticut didn’t originally have coyotes. They arrived here in the 1950s and have since expanded their range throughout the entire state. DEEP says they are opportunistic animals that primarily eat mice, woodchucks, squirrels, rabbits, deer, some fruits, carrion and garbage. They also prey on small livestock, poultry and small pets.
Coyote pups are born in April to mid-May, so it’s likely local coyotes are now hunting not just for themselves, but also to feed their young.
The flyer warns that unsupervised pets, particularly outdoor cats and small dogs weighing less than 25 pounds, are vulnerable to coyote attacks. The risk of a coyote attacking a person is “extremely low” according to the flyer, but the risk increases if they are intentionally fed and associate people with food.
The best way to protect your pets is not to allow them to run free. Cats should be kept indoors, particularly at night, and small dogs should be on a leash and under close supervision at all times. One long-term solution to the problem is a kennel or coyote-proof fencing.
Homeowners are advised to avoid leaving pet food outdoors. Coyotes also are attracted by table scraps on compost piles, decaying fruit below fruit trees, and bird seed below bird feeders.
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