Editor,
I am writing you because I am curious to know if Carmel or Hamilton County keeps track of coyote attacks on pets. My pet, a Yorkshire Terrier named Cowboy, disappeared from our yard two weeks ago and was found by a member of our community. This person took a picture of my dog, and it was apparent from the image that he was attacked by a wild animal. We had our dog microchipped, and we kept him in the yard with an Invisible Fence. Our house has a dog door so he was able to go in and out as needed. Obviously, I feel terrible that I didn’t do enough to protect him, and I greatly underestimated the risk of wildlife in the area.
I can’t plead ignorance because I know a neighbor said something to me years ago about seeing a coyote in my neighborhood, and after the fact I heard that there was a committee to investigate coyote issues that was headed up by our mayor. That said, I would like to do whatever I can to get the word out to others so another family doesn’t have to experience this. We were pretty wrecked by it. He was an awesome, loving, spunky, little dog.
A thought I had was to put a small column in The Current to keep a running total of coyote/pet situations, and possibly a small space for people to post pictures of lost/found pets.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue and any suggestions of an action I could take to help get the word out.
Thank you for your consideration.
Heather Largura
Carmel
A response from Hamilton Co. Deputy Tom Rogers:
Heather,
I’m sorry for the loss of your pet. I cannot speak for the city of Carmel, since my jurisdiction is the County Sheriff’s Jurisdiction. My office does not keep track of coyote attacks.
Coyote’s fall under the Indiana Department of Natural Recourses in the same category of squirrels and rabbits or raccoons. There are approximately 1500 coyote’s within Hamilton County. They do not hunt in packs but will travel in packs. Human Beings are not on their food chain but small rodents and animals are.
Coyote’s do not just hunt at night. Hamilton County also has a spay neuter requirement because coyotes attempt to breed with domestic dogs resulting in a more brazen coyote.
There is an abundance of information that you can obtain from the internet.
I’m sure this may not be the information you want to hear but there are also fox not just coyote that may be the culprit that attacked your dog.
Your thought of putting something in the Current in Carmel may help to bring awareness but again that is not controlled by my office.
I hope this finds you well.
Please let me know if there is anything else I may be able to help you with.
Deputy Tom Rogers
Animal Control Coordinator
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office