She runs out under the opening electric garage door into the cul de sac of our suburban neighborhood around 6:30 AM. It's daylight already, but everyone is still sleeping and everything is quiet. She likes to go out barking; alerting everyone that she's present. Waking people up.
Letting her out first thing in the morning saves me from walking her so early when I know coyotes are around. I have run into a few over the years. They scare me more than Kira and I am the one who runs. I see coyotes everywhere, not just on the bike or horse trail. My friend was walking her two large Weimaraners when they came upon 4 coyotes traveling together; coming from the undeveloped outer city limits to town to go hunting for anything small enough to eat. We have plenty of rabbits, but little dogs and cats are easy prey because they are trapped in backyards. The coyotes attacked one of her more aggressive dogs who fought back. They had a stand off then her dog came to her. She said it was the scariest feeling to be so defenseless in the middle of a dog fight.
I heard stories. One woman who had her nose half bitten off trying to protect her dog. My neighbor had 7 cats eaten by coyotes. Another neighbor had a cat who lived outdoors for years before it became too old and too slow to out run one. It was found in the backyard; that is, it's head was found one morning. People on the bike trail told me about a little dog who was in the backyard and a coyote jumped a 6 foot fence and ran after it. The owners saw their little dog flying through the doggy door of their home and the head of the coyote coming through the door also; latching onto the dog's hind legs, dragging it back out the door.Where there are two dogs in a family; the coyote always comes back to get the second one; if they missed it the first time.
I was standing by the door when I heard this high pitched sound as if little girls were screaming out with their last breath of air. I have heard in the past, Kira scream at a high pitch squeal like a little girl being stabbed to death; but that's usually when the neighbor's tom cat is after her when she gets too close. Kira always looks for cats in the neighbor's yard against her better judgment.
This time the squeal was louder and deadlier, as it came and came and came without taking a breath. I was expecting Kira to come running around the corner from our neighbor's house as she usually does, but she didn't come. I started walking fast to the end of the driveway thinking I had to save Kira from a cat; at the same time wanting to stop the piercing sounds that I thought were from little girls who might be witnessing a dog fight. Little did I know it was Kira screaming.
Kira casually came running around the corner from our neighbor's house to our driveway.
She usually is alone as the cat doesn't follow her. The light tanned hairy blob that trotted behind her was just two feet away from her and it was slightly a blur as my brain did not quite comprehend the possibility of Kira being coyote bait.
Kira was not running as fast as she runs from a cat, as the coyote was trotting behind her, as if taking a leisurely jog.
Once my husband and I were standing next to Kira; there was a stand off. The coyote eyed Kira from the center of the road and waited. Kira held her own, feeling brave with backup support. She ran towards the coyote a few times, not listening to us when we called her.
I held up my arms to pretend to be bigger than I am and the coyote got scared and ran a short distance down the road. Kira probably thinking the coyote ran because of her fierce presence started after her. Little did she know that she was breakfast.
Kira was so excited. Her tail was wagging even though she had a bite from a coyote tooth deep in the center of her back that bled. I washed it off and put neosporin on it. She has all her rabies shots.
She was so active after that engagement she would not sit still. I took her for a walk shortly thereafter; when we came across the same coyote further down into the housing area. Kira saw it first. Kira wanted to attack the coyote and pulled on her leash as the coyote came towards us. It would have approached us closer, if I had not held up my arms with the stick to scare it off.
Clueless Kira struts along down the road, as if, her fierce presence scared the coyote off. Never mind her ear piercing screams of terror during the attack; that has nothing to do with her stance as a fierce fighting machine in her mind.
Posted by BirdsEyeView
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