Oh, that's not my neighbor's dog...

Perks · Jan 8, 2014

So, I had an interesting little jolt late yesterday afternoon. My good friend and neighbor was hanging out with me in my kitchen. I was chopping up veggies and she was sitting opposite me at the counter in front of a 6 x 8 window that takes up most of the back wall of the room.

Now Mary, my friend, has the best dog in the world. His name is Buddy and he's an American Dingo or Carolina Dog. I don't have any pictures of Buddy handy, but he looks almost exactly like this, only slightly handsomer:

Like I said, he's the best dog in the world and he makes me smile every time I see him. He's also the boss of this whole area. Buddy makes his rounds, leashless, and generally serves as Mayor, Ambassador, and Sheriff of this whole semi-rural development.

So, we're chatting, Mary and I, and over her shoulder, I get a glimpse of Buddy on patrol in my backyard.

And I say, "Hey, there's Bud- oh wow. That is so not Buddy."

This guy was in my backyard. Well, not exactly this guy. Couldn't get my camera before he was gone, but he looked almost exactly like this one, only slightly leaner.

Now, Buddy's a medium-large dog. This guy was about a head taller and a rump longer and presumably fangier and rangier than Buddy will ever be.

Eeeeep!

robjvargas · Jan 8, 2014

There's a county park near my home. I go off the trails there all the time. There's something about emerging from a stand of trees and staring a coyote right in the eyes. It lends a rather poignant perspective on the whole "man vs nature" debate.

He didn't seem to think I was worth the bother and trotted away.

ElaineA · Jan 8, 2014

We have 'em all over here, often trotting down the middle of the golf course, but they're smaller and thinner than the one in your picture. I've come around a corner in the woods with my dogs a time or two, only to find one on the path ahead, dead still and watching. As soon as it gets a look at the dogs, it disappears like a ghost. Puts the terriers right over the edge.

Perks · Jan 8, 2014

I did find myself drifting to the windows as the day wore on. Not that I want him hanging around. Still, it was pretty neat.

Kylabelle · Jan 8, 2014

Coyotes are in every state in the (contiguous) US at this point. I remember reading a news article about their having been located in all the states, back in late 90s, I think.

Shortly after Hurricane Floyd, I looked out the front window to see one staring in at me. Because we'd just had this big storm my first thought was that it was a stray dog in need of help.

Nope.

This one also was not too interested in humans. Just looking for something to eat. Eventually loped off into a small patch of woods across the street.

Big fella, too.

Bushrat · Jan 8, 2014

Cool

If I were your neighbour, I'd not lot my dog go astray in the neighbourhood or leave him unsupervised in the backyard, though. He might turn into coyote dinner.

Alessandra Kelley · Jan 9, 2014

We've had 'em in downtown Chicago. One hid under a taxi in front of the Art Institute. One trotted into a convenience store and sat on a freezer one hot day. Another lived in a park next to Navy Pier, a densely populated area, and eluded capture for weeks.

regdog · Jan 9, 2014

They live in the two cemeteries in the city I live in. Sad to say some asshat poisoned the parents and only the nearly grown cubs survived but they are thriving. People go up to the cemeteries just to see if they can spot them. We've seen them several times, big handsome things.

mrsmig · Jan 9, 2014

I had two does and a six-point buck in my back yard over Christmas week. They startled the hell out of me. I live in the suburbs of a Major Metropolitan area and while deer are not unheard of in our area, the sheer brass of these three (middle of the yard, broad daylight, held their ground when I came quietly out onto the deck) was unusual.

EMaree · Jan 9, 2014

Coyotes are very cool-looking canines. I still wouldn't like to have them in the UK, though. I like knowing my pets are safe in the back garden!

BMajor · Jan 9, 2014

We have such a big deer population boom going on in DC/MD/VA that we've been seeing even more coyote activity lately (more so in the rural areas around here) but still. Even the foxes are huge (and VERY active) this past year - I thought one was a coyote but, alas, just our neighborhood fox

I still wouldn't want to happen upon one on one of my hikes though.. keep Buddy safe!

MaryMumsy · Jan 9, 2014

We have a lot of them around here. When I would walk with my neighbor, usually just after dawn in the summer, we would see them a couple of times a week. I took to carrying a large walking stick and a Coke can with pebbles in it. They would just stand in the middle of the road looking at you, as if to say: 'my people were here first, what are you going to do about it?'.

Even though we are now surrounded by the city many people in my neighborhood have chickens, ducks, sheep, goats, etc. We're zoned for it, and that is why a lot of people moved here. So there is good eating for the coyotes. Around four years ago a pair of coyotes took a lamb, a ewe, and were coming back for the ram before being chased off by a neighbor walking his very large dog.

MM

Bushrat · Jan 9, 2014

EMaree said:
Coyotes are very cool-looking canines. I still wouldn't like to have them in the UK, though. I like knowing my pets are safe in the back garden!

It's not difficult to keep pets safe from wildlife. I've been living in coyote, bear and wolf country with my dogs for 16 years and have never had a problem. 15 years ago, a coyote tried to lure my dog away, but my dog listened, I put him on the leash and we left the area--with the coyote trailing us for about one kilometre, then he gave up.

As long as dogs listen, aren't left to fend for themselves, and any area outside the house they're locked into by themselves has a decent fence, it's not a problem at all

Basically just a matter of good pet ownership (which translates equally to keeping livestock save from wildlife).

shakeysix · Jan 9, 2014

They hang around very near to town here. They will lure a dog away and then turn on it. They were here first so I cut them some slack. We can hear them at night sometimes. They make me feel like I live in a western movie.--s6

EMaree · Jan 9, 2014

Bushrat said:
It's not difficult to keep pets safe from wildlife. I've been living in coyote, bear and wolf country with my dogs for 16 years and have never had a problem. 15 years ago, a coyote tried to lure my dog away, but my dog listened, I put him on the leash and we left the area--with the coyote trailing us for about one kilometre, then he gave up.

As long as dogs listen, aren't left to fend for themselves, and any area outside the house they're locked into by themselves has a decent fence, it's not a problem at all Basically just a matter of good pet ownership (which translates equally to keeping livestock save from wildlife).

Ah, most Scots in my area aren't used to those kind of measures, and a significant amount of them are downright reckless. I have off-lead dogs dash out of the dark towards my (leashed, large, wearing a flashing collar and walking 30 metres away from any other dog walkers) dog almost 1 out of every 3 nights. If it's a good day they're just visiting to sniff, but most of them try to attack.

(But they "just wanted to play" of course.)

Owners around here just assume that as long as they can saunter after their dog 10 mins after he disappears then no harm will come to it.

(Sorry, dog owner grumbles!)

roundtable · Jan 10, 2014

For the 22 years I've owned this house, the past five or so has been with the coyote population rapidly expanding. Our neighborhood isn't too far from Lake Champlain (Vermont side) and in the past year, the coyotes have started coming as close as where my husband parks his car in the driveway, about 25 feet from the front door.

We have a rat terrier, and while he is one of the larger sized rat terriers, he's still small - 20 lbs and about 15 inches in height. He's very well trained, rarely leaves my side, and in the morning, I'll go out on the deck and watch while he relieves himself. Last spring, I opened the door, he went out, and I caught movement from the driveway. Spotted a pretty big coyote, so I called Sam back to me and started yelling at the coyote to get (from the safety of the deck). The scary thing is it showed no fear and made no attempt to run off.

As soon as the ground thawed, a fence went up and a baby gate went up across the stairs of the deck just in case the coyote decided to start coming up onto the deck. Since then, I and other neighbors have seen a pack of about eight coyotes in backyards, the horse field out behind me, and running across the road to the swamp.

Bushrat · Jan 10, 2014

@ roundtable: Maybe buy a can of bear spray and keep it handy for encounters that are too close for comfort. That should do the trick without any lasting harm.
The problems with wildlife in suburbs and urban areas is usually accessible food (garbage and unattended pets). Because of the large size of human population, there will always be careless people who cause wildlife to associate houses with an easy meal. Using deterrents such as bear spray may help counteract that, at least with individual animals, without causing them any lasting harm.

@ EMaree - That must be very frustrating!

Lady MacBeth · Jan 10, 2014

We have a family of coyotes living nearby. They've already killed several cats and tried to steal my neighbour's dog while he was walking it. The neighborhood backs onto wilderness so we get cougars, bobcats and bears coming through too. I've never had a problem with any of them, but I do keep my pets close.

Perks · Jan 10, 2014

If I see a cougar, I'm going to flat out faint. I grew up in apartments outside Washington, DC. I can't see a cougar.

Alessandra Kelley · Jan 10, 2014

I hate to break it to you, but cougars have reached Chicago. One actually made it into the city in 2008 before it was killed, and another was killed about 130 miles west of Chicago last November.

ElaineA · Jan 10, 2014

Like Lady MacBeth, we have cougar and bear sightings regularly in the woods behind our neighborhood. I don't want to run into either of them.

roundtable · Jan 11, 2014

There have apparently been cougar sightings near me, but I've never seen them. A couple towns away, someone got an excellent photo of two bobcats hanging out near their bird feeders, but I've never seen bobcats either. We do have fisher cats though, and they scare me. They seem to have no fear. A few months ago, I was driving home after dropping my daughter off at high school and a fisher cat ran out in front of me while chasing someone's cat. I missed the cat, but hit that fisher cat head on. The noise that thing made right before I hit it will never be forgotten.

Perks · Jan 11, 2014

Yesterday, no lie, a raccoon attacked my car. I was headed to the bus stop in the afternoon to pick up my daughter and I saw an animal nosing around ahead on the road. My car startled it, but (by this time I could see that it was a raccoon) it only crept around a stump. I mean, it was all hunkered down like it thought it was hiding, but it was still in plain view.

So I drove up beside it to tell it that it was dumb, but when I stopped and rolled down the window, the little bastard lunged, open-mouthed, little boxing paws up, right at my car!

Scared the crap out of me.

I am a wuss.

Alessandra Kelley · Jan 11, 2014

It probably thought you had food. Urban raccoons chewed holes through our trash bin lids to get at the contents, so now we have to keep the bins in the garage.

In pleasant news, Illinois' bald eagle population is now second only to Alaska's (in the US).

juniper · Jan 11, 2014

When I lived in SoCal, in a crowded suburb, we had coyotes. They lived in the ravines between the houses on the hillsides. I occasionally saw one walking down the side street, in broad daylight. They always looked so thin, so - wild.

At a job I had there, I had a huge picture window right next to my desk and it overlooked a small creek area. I'd see a lot of mallard ducks right next to the window, and duckling! Bigger birds would visit the creek sometimes.

And once - a coyote walked right next to the window, just on the other side of the glass from me. He looked in but kept walking. That was really cool. I could have touched him - or he could have touched me! - except for the glass.

Oh, that's not my neighbor's dog...

delicate #!&@*#! flower

All about that action, boss.

delicate #!&@*#! flower

unaccounted for

reaching for the sun

Sophipygian

The Scavengers

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

a demon for tea

Probably judging you.

the original blond bombshell

reaching for the sun

blue eyed floozy

a demon for tea

reaching for the sun

Out, damn'd spot! out, I say.

delicate #!&@*#! flower

Sophipygian

All about that action, boss.

delicate #!&@*#! flower

Sophipygian

Always curious.