SEATTLE — A Seattle woman is recovering after a coyote bit her when she rescued her dog from its mouth.
A woman saw a coyote had her dog in its mouth in the backyard of her Seattle home last Friday, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The woman said the coyote bit her as she tried to free her dog. WDFW said the woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries to her arm and head and she went to the hospital for treatment. The dog survived.
WDFW officers searched for the coyote but were not able to find it.
"If you saw coyote grab your beloved pet, grab your loved one you might do the same thing and you might not get as lucky," Jayne Smith said.
Smith found her cat in a coyote's mouth outside her Queen Anne home in May. She started chasing it, and the coyote dropped her kitty.
"Extensive damage to his throat and head,” Smith said. “Specifically, the coyote grabbed him from the top of the head."
The incident came a week after a coyote attacked a dog in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. The coyote attacked the dog in a backyard and ran down the street with the dog in its mouth. The dog's owners chased the coyote and got it to drop the dog after honking their horns and shining bright lights on it.
So, are coyote attacks on the rise?
"It's also rare for coyotes to attack or show much interest in pets," said Robert Long, Woodland Park Zoo’s Senior Conservation Scientist and Director of its Living Northwest Program.
He said people should be sure to keep a close eye on their pets. Make sure cats are inside and dogs are on leashes. But he said if a coyote does attack your pet, "The safest thing to do is try to scare the coyote and have it drop the pet," said Long.
Long said when it comes to coyotes biting humans, only about two dozen people in the country are bitten by coyotes a year. Compared to dogs, which is about four million according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And as Smith's cat heals, she has this to say to pet lovers, "I hope this never happens to you again. And I hope it doesn't happen to anyone else."
Fish and Wildlife officials said the dog involved in last Friday’s coyote encounter survived and was not injured.
If a coyote approaches too closely, WDFW recommends acting aggressively toward it by waving your arms, shouting or throwing stones at it. Make yourself look bigger by standing on a rock or stump, which can make someone appear to be a threat to a coyote.
If you witness a coyote attack on supervised pets or backyard chickens, WDFW encourages you to report it to WDFW police officers. You can call (360) 902–2936, email WILDCOMM@dfw.wa.gov, or report online. If there is an immediate public safety issue or attack on a person, call 911 right away.
KING 5's Maddie White contributed to this report.
