Toronto: Coyotes pose a serious threat for pet owners

Stephanie Simonik had told CityNew she let her dog, Dexter, out in the backyard of their home on Kane Road at around 7 a.m.

But when Dexter did not respond to Simonik’s repeated calls, she and her husband frantically searched for Dexter and finally came upon Dexter’s body.

“He had been torn apart and partly eaten,” she grimly described. “He was gone,” CityNews reports said.

Simonik wasn’t aware of a coyote risk when she moved with her family to the neighbourhood in May.

Simonik, pregnant with her second child, had since learned of another coyote attack in the area two weeks ago.

She had also seen fresh coyote tracks in the snow around her home on Wednesday.

The family had called Animal Control and their city councillor and wanted the animal captured.

But her local councillor told that they could not do anything unless humans are attacked by the coyote

“We have a two-year-old and another baby on the way … and it scares me that an attack like this happened right in my backyard,” she said, CityNews reports said.
Mark Ryckman, a senior wildlife biologist with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, said

“There’s been an increase in population size in general,” he said. “The land is saturated with coyote packs. It means some packs are going to be in transition, moving to the land outside or in suburban or urban areas.”

“They are amazingly adaptable and there are quite a lot of resources available for them,” he added. “Like squirrels, cats, dogs and rodents,” CityNews reports said.