A South Windsor family is warning others to be on alert after their dog was attacked by a coyote.
Coyote sightings aren’t unusual along Abbe Road, but neighbors have recently reported seeing two or three coyotes traveling together, and that’s what Monica Rich thinks attacked their dog.
“I think a smaller animal would not have survived that and I'm grateful we got him,” Rich told NBC Connecticut.
Claw marks cover 8-year-old Huxley’s back, bites and deep wounds scar his face – the evidence of a brutal coyote attack last Sunday.
Rich said her kids let the Wheaten terrier outside and forgot he was out there. An hour later when she came home, Huxley came limping over.
“He looked like he was covered in mud like he'd gotten into water or something and it was dark - when we brought him inside we realized he was actually covered in blood,” Rich said.
Rich said a trip to the vet revealed the extent of the wounds, and that at first Huxley couldn’t walk. After days of care, he’s getting back to his old self.
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Normally coyotes keep to the woods, steering clear of the dog. But with this change in behavior, Rich wants her neighbors to know what happened. She’s now changing how Huxley goes out and how late her kids go outside to take care of their farm animals.
“We used to let them go out as late as 8 at night to do that but I don't think we're going to and when we take Huxley out at night we take him out on a leash because we don’t feel he's safe on his own,” Rich said.
Rich wants neighbors to be aware and take precautions to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said that while some coyotes sometimes exhibit bold behavior, it is unusual for them to attack humans. Small pets, especially those under 25 pounds, are at risk.
For more information on coyotes, visit the DEEP website.
