NATURAL ENEMY: A coyote prowls a hilltop near Irvine Lake in a photograph taken in 1999. File photo: Eugene Garcia, The Orange County Register |
For coyotes, pets are prey
Cunning, bold and hardy, the opportunistic omnivores are common in Orange County and more aggressive in spring.
IRVINE The coyote came silently. The two Chihuahuas didn't have time to bark.
Susan Scott was hunched over a clump of grass along a curb in her slumbering Quail Hill neighborhood, cleaning up after Kimber, a 12-pound female.
An agonizing wail shattered the calm.
Scott turned and saw chocolate- brown Ginny, all of 5 pounds, thrashing wildly in the jaws of a coyote as it fought to tear the dog off her 6-foot leash.
"No! No!'' Scott screamed, failing to rouse her neighbors during the 5:45 a.m. attack April 22.
Scott and other residents had seen a coyote roaming the streets, but she never expected to engage in a fierce tug-of-war with one.
The coyote, about the size of a German shepherd, clamped down on 3- year-old Ginny's stomach, a tooth piercing her abdomen. Scott yanked hard on the black leash.
Stories like Scott's are heard more frequently this time of year as coyotes attack dogs and cats - sometimes in broad daylight, experts say.
Like opossums and skunks, coyotes are one of the few species of wild animals that thrive around humans, said Martin Maytorena, a patrol captain for the state Department of Fish and Game.
"They are everywhere, and they don't have a lot of fear," said Dr. June Crook, director of medicine at Animal Urgent Care of South Orange County in Mission Viejo. "We have invaded their territory, and our pets are their new small game."
About three to five pets attacked by coyotes are brought into Crook's hospital each week. Most are dogs, since cats typically don't survive the attacks.
John Thompson, an administrator at Advanced Critical Care and Internal Medicine in Tustin, said the hospital is seeing more pets that have been attacked by coyotes. The facility is one of the largest 24-hour veterinary referral specialty practices in Orange County.
Dr. Ed Folkers of the Mission Viejo Animal Hospital has been practicing in south Orange County for more than 30 years. He's heard stories about coyotes snatching cats off the streets of Ladera Ranch.
"People chase after them with golf clubs," Folkers said.
Coyotes are omnivorous feeders and opportunistic predators, which makes small dogs and cats especially vulnerable, said Robert M. Timm, superintendent and extension wildlife specialist at the Hopland center.
According to his research, some people make the mistake of feeding coyotes - which decreases their natural fear of humans.
"These are unpredictable animals, and some people seem to have a Disney attitude toward them," Timm said.
Two cats apparently killed by coyotes have been found in recent weeks in Fountain Valley, and residents in other parts of the county are reporting more coyote sightings.
Brenda McCroskey, 47, a 12-year resident of Harbor View in Newport Beach, has seen a coyote roaming her neighborhood three times within the last 2-1/2 months while walking her beagle, Lola.
"It's got me freaked out, that's for sure," said the married mother of a 14-year-old girl who chides her mother when she insists on taking a stick with her while walking Lola, who weighs 34 pounds.
Around 8:45 p.m. April 21, a coyote rushed up to within about 12 feet of McCroskey and her pet but stopped when McCroskey picked up her dog and ran back home.
"It was very scary," McCroskey said. "We're taking over their habitat, aren't we?"
As Scott tearfully recounted the attack on her Chihuahua, she added, "I was conditioned to think that if your dog was on a leash, and if you stayed on a grassy area or on the sidewalk in your neighborhood, then you'd be safe."
Doctors cut open Ginny's abdomen to sew a dislodged kidney back into place. She has lost use of that kidney. The veterinary bill so far has exceeded $3,800.
Other than a severe cause of the jitters, Ginny, 3, largely seems to have recovered. Her stitches were taken out Sunday.
Scott, a senior engineer project specialist at Rockwell Collins in Tustin, still is spooked.
She has limited Ginny to a two- minute "walk'' in front of the house and Kimber to five-minute walks.
"You have no idea,'' Scott said of the attack. "I've never been so scared in my life.''
Contact the writer: (714) 796-2286 or ghardesty@ocregister.com
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