Monday, November 10, 2008

Gideon's Conflict with Coyotes

On Monday night (November 3rd), our family finished playing some board games and started our family worship a little earlier than usual. It had been an unseasonably warm day so we had the windows up. My mom was reading from the book of Jeremiah when Kate and Noah heard what sounded like dogs fighting. Gideon, our Golden Retriever was outside on his runner located behind the barn. Noah was worried and wanted to go check on Gideon. So, Benjamin and Noah put on jackets, grabbed a flashlight and headed out the back door. Noah shined his flashlight behind the barn where he saw at least two coyotes attacking our dog. He began to run recklessly towards the wild dogs and yelling at them "to get." He later said, "It was like I was in a trance. All I could think about was saving my dog." Benjamin had been screaming for Noah to "come back." Finally, when Noah was about 15 feet from the conflict, Benjamin's cries took effect and Noah ran back into the house. Benjamin had also been yelling to those inside to get the shotguns which we hurriedly did. The barn has floodlights mounted on all sides, but the switch is located just inside the door. So "armed to the teeth," we advanced together down to flip on the lights and assess the situation. Noah had seen one coyote limp off into the woods and Kate had seen another run towards the orchard. After turning the lights on, we checked on Gideon and saw that he had obviously been involved in a tussle and appeared a bit traumatized. We quickly marched back up to the house with the dog and brought him inside. We then noticed that he was bleeding and found 4 puncture wounds. The poor boy was very quiet and it took a couple days for him to bounce back to his usual happy self. We believe that when the wild dogs first attacked him, that he fought his way to the inside of his dog house where he'd have his backside protected from attack. As a result, he found 4 punctures on his furry, disheveled head.


We then gathered together and talked about what we should have done differently and what we should do with the dog in the future. We also gave thanks in prayer for the safety of us all. We couldn't believe that the coyotes would have had the audacity to charge into our yard. We had heard them getting closer for a few weeks, but we had never even seen one around. The next morning we called the vet and our local conservation agent. The veterinarian's main concern was infection in the punctures. Throughout this week Gideon hasn't been outside unsupervised. The wounds aren't infected and are beginning to heal. The agent said that the coyotes probably attacked for territory, not for food. We were somewhat glad of this, because they wouldn't be likely to attack any small children unless it was for food. We don't like for the coyotes to think that our yard is included in their territory, nor do we want our dog to constantly be in danger. The agent told us to feel free to shoot the aggressive varmints. We've gone outside every night, armed with a shot gun, to watch and listen for them. If we finally get one, we'll be sure to post it here.


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