Wauwatosa Woman Shares Story Of Wild Coyote Attack

WAUWATOSA, WI -- On Saturday June 15, Judy Plier of Wauwatosa took her two dogs, Lady G and Charlie Brown for a walk at the Sanctuary Woods.

She takes her Labradoodles there off-leash about three times a week, she said. On this particular Saturday, however, her dogs had a run-in with coyotes that she will never forget.

As she tells the story, as her dogs were enjoying the natural space, Plier caught sight of one coyote. Then she saw another. And then she saw a cub. Sensing a potentially dangerous situation afoot for her dogs, she called for them. She threw a ball for Charlie to keep him away from the coyotes.

Plier said she kept control of Lady G, but that Charlie Brown proceeded to bound headlong into the woods. when he ran into the woods. Charlie Brown finally came running back to Plier's location, but by that time, she noticed her dog had multiple puncture wounds and a laceration.

"I saw four coyotes and two cubs. There may have been more," she told Wauwatosa Patch. "They followed up out of the park and to the parking lot. Charlie has three puncture wounds to the back of his right leg and a large laceration, most likely from the teeth of another coyote, on the back of his left leg."

Plier said Charlie Brown has since been taken care of by the vet, is on antibiotics and is up to date on rabies and distemper vaccines. She even put up signs in the park, warning of wild coyotes.

It was just one incident that happened in Wauwatosa related to house pets and wild coyotes.

Plier said she learned that on the very same day, another woman and her friend were walking their four dogs in the same location and were attacked. Plier said a second friend of hers was chased by the coyotes in the same park where he was walking with his dogs over the weekend.

"I notified the Milwaukee Sheriff to file a report and they were nice but not concerned," she told Patch. "I put a few home made signs up at the park as well."

The Department of Natural Resources has a few tips about how to deal with wild coyotes in the event they wander into more urban areas.

Nuisance management techniques:

• Remove potential food sources such as open garbage cans and pet food bowls.
• Do not provide food and water for other wildlife.
• It may attract coyotes and their prey.
• Clear brush and undergrowth in your yard.
• Use scare tactics if you see a coyote.
• Yell and make loud noises, shake or throw pop cans fill with coins, throw a ball, shoe, sticks or other object or spray the coyote with water.
• You can also buy ultrasonic dog repellents or pocket-sized air horns.
• Install a 6-7 foot high fence buried approximately 1 foot deep to help keep coyotes out of an area.