Foo - Craziest thing I've seen for awhile

I spent the 4th of July holiday at a beach I've been going to for 14 years. I like to play with the dog at 5:30 in the morning. Usually, no one else is out there.

This morning, one other guy was out there playing with his dog. Suddenly, I saw a coyote come out of the woods (never saw one here before).

My dog is a puppy and thinks coyotes are dogs that want to be played with. She tends to chew on the tails, ears, and jowls of dogs she meets -- we figured the coyote would not appreciate that. I started building distance fast, told my wife to hold our dog so I could run interference.

The other guy saw the coyote, but couldn't get away before it came up to his dog. They actually played for a tiny bit. They coyote grabbed the dog's tennis ball, but let him have it back about 30 seconds later.

I don't have pics, but the other guy snapped some of his dog with the coyote on his cell phone. He figured his wife would never believe it. They live here full time and have never seen a coyote. I barely believe it, and I saw it with my own eyes.

lay off the booze

How big was the coyote?
The couple I saw in SE WA state were tiny. Coyotes in Colorado are quite a bit larger.

How big was the coyote?
The couple I saw in SE WA state were tiny. Coyotes in Colorado are quite a bit larger.
This thing was small -- 45 lbs max (i.e. smaller than my puppy).

Normally, I wouldn't have worried at all. It appeared relaxed and was not at all threatening. I just wanted to avoid a situation where my doggie got traumatized and torn up after provoking it, followed by me getting rabies shots after having to jump in the mix.

I love wild animals, but I have a lot of respect for them. Even adult raccoons are also small and cute, but they can do a surprising amount of damage.

We have coyotes that live in the BPA powerline right of way nearby. They have quite the reputation for eating cats. Coyotes are not to be messed with, that is for sure.

Careful, coyotes have been known to lure domestic dogs out into the woods then kill them for food.

We have coyotes all over Cook County and even in Chicago. See them all the time in my backyard on the Salt Creek, first time was over 10 years ago. Get used to it, they're back. BTW, coyotes, wolves and dogs are all the same species.

I predict rabies in your future

I don't have pics, but the other guy snapped some of his dog with the coyote on his cell phone. He figured his wife would never believe it. They live here full time and have never seen a coyote. I barely believe it, and I saw it with my own eyes.

Heh - I guess you do need a cell phone after all (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=556354&page=4):p

MOst of the Coyotes in Virginia where I live are almost bred to dogs by now anyway. Still they are wild.

Heh - I guess you do need a cell phone after all (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=556354&page=4):p

Actually, I have one -- the G1 (my business and personal phone). It has video capabilities that allow me to load diectly to youtube. Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XEApKan_Sk)you can see my puppy playing fetch on the beach near where we saw the coyote.

The reason I don't have pics is that I was more concerned about making sure my doggie would be OK than documenting the moment. I think the other guy was nuts. In his defense, his dog was at least 90 lbs and it had a great temperament, so he would have had more time to react if things had gone wrong.