PHOENIX — Tuesday night was hockey night and the last thing Samantha Hjelle and Dawn Proefrock expected was a call from their neighbors.
“Our neighbors had called us and had said that there were some coyotes at our back fence and Atticus, our American bulldog, was getting attacked through the fence,” said Hjelle.
The attack left the dog with facial and leg injuries.
Hjelle and Proefrock have lived in their Ahwatukee neighborhood for six years and have enjoyed watching the wildlife from their patio.
“All sorts of birds…bobcats…coyotes,” said the two.
The pair never had a bad encounter until some coyotes became too aggressive in the past month.
Hjelle installed a surveillance camera on the back fence to monitor the pack when they approached the fence above their patio.
Surveillance video from Tuesday missed the attack, but you can see two coyotes approach the fence. The larger coyote is aggressively poking its nose through the fence towards Atticus on the other side.
“Jumped up along the fence here and grabbed the dog and severely injured him last night,” said Hjelle.
Atticus walks around with a plastic cone. He has a bandaged leg and scratch marks on his face. He is expected to make a full recovery.
“What the likely scenario is there is a den sight near that location,” said Darren Julian with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Julian thinks this may have been a fight between a dog and a coyote protecting their territories.
“The coyote might be a little worked up thinking there might be another predator that could potentially go after their young or be competition for other food resources within that given territory,” said Julian.
He said the pack may eventually move to another location next year. Julian encourages residents in the area to watch their pets and don’t leave food around.
One tip for driving the coyotes away is to fill a soaker filled with 10 to 20% household ammonia diluted with water and fire it at the coyotes.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.