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Family urges others to protect family pets from coyotes by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff 13 | Thursday, December 17, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com An Oakville family is grieving the loss of family pet Darwin after the four-year-old shih tzu went missing from their backyard Dec. 8. The O'Hallorans suspect Darwin was attacked and killed by a coyote after finding what appeared to be his tail the next morning, not far from their home. "Our backyard leads out into a forest that has a ravine, so we figured it could be coyotes," explained Jesse O'Halloran, 23. Darwin was let outside around 5:30 p.m. and when he was still not in around 7:30 p.m., the Oakville and Milton Humane Society (OMHS) was called in hopes the small dog was lost and someone had found him. "Darwin is not one to wonder off, so immediately we were worried," said O'Halloran, who arrived at home around 9 p.m. and went searching for Darwin himself around the perimeter of their home and the forest. O'Halloran and his dad Michael continued the search at dawn when they found the tail. "Our worst nightmare had become a reality," he said. The family is now warning residents to keep a close watch on their pets. Recently, the Oakville Beaver received reports of a coyote sighting in the same area while the Town of Oakville's coyote map indicates some sightings in the Lakeshore Road East and Ford Drive area over the last six months. | photo by Paul Rothfischer | photo by Margaret Abrahams | submitted photo At left, it is suspected four-year-old shih tzu Darwin was attacked and killed by a coyote Dec. 8. At top, Paul Rothfischer saw what appears to be a coyote on All Saints Crescent Dec. 5. Below, Margaret Abrahams spotted what looked like a coyote with mange on Maple Grove Drive Dec. 10 around noon. According to Halton Region, each year, there are approximately 500 reports of encounters between coyotes, residents and pets in Halton. Residents and pet owners are advised to be extra vigilant when walking in parks or greenspaces, specifically where there were sightings. Take precautions including keeping your pet leashed at all times, disposing of garbage and other potential food items in the appropriate bins. Most importantly, never feed a coyote or approach a coyote, its den or pups. If a coyote approaches you, do not run or turn your back on a coyote. Appear large and aggressive while making loud noises. Use whistles and personal alarm devices to frighten them. Slowly back away. If you feel you are in danger, call 911. The Town of Oakville has a coyote reporting system it encourages residents to use to report an encounter, someone feeding coyotes or a problem with food waste or garbage. It tracks the information provided through the system to assess areas with increased coyote activity and eliminate human-based food sources for coyote. For more information or to see a map of coyote sightings in your area, visit www.oakville. ca/environment/featured-wildlife.html. Meanwhile, the O'Halloran family says it is "torn up" over the loss of Darwin. Michael took to Facebook to share his grief, posting Darwin loved all the people and other animals he met. "There was not a mean bone in his body," he wrote. "Not built for swimming, he swam for hours, just to be with me. He loved the boat, playing with the fish I caught, riding beside me in the golf cart as we drove around Bayshore." "We called him `little big dog' because in his mind and heart, he was the same as all the other bigger dogs. He loved lying on the top of the counter, licking my dinner plate clean and waking me up at 6:30 a.m. for his quick pee and a hunk of smoked beef. I can't remember many things he didn't like, maybe a bath, but he was a dog." For related story, see p.20