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Oakville family reeling after coyote attacks pet dogs by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff 11 | Thursday, April 14, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com A Birch Hill Lane man is calling on pet owners to keep a close eye on their furry friends after a coyote attacked his dog in his backyard Thursday. Anthony DiCenzo said he was going about his evening routine and had let his two dogs, a two-year-old toy poodle named Belle and a 15-yearold poodle-bijon mix named Bomba, out into his fenced backyard when the incident took place. "She (Belle) went out and usually there's some barking, but instead of that I heard this stressed yelping noise," said DiCenzo. "I ran outside. She is running just trying to get to the door with one large coyote, larger than a German Shepherd, coming towards her." DiCenzo noted the coyote turned around and fled as soon as it saw him. Both dogs were able to get inside the house, however, Belle received a bite to one of her legs. She has since received veterinary care and is on the road to recovery. DiCenzo said he only became aware there were coyotes in the area late last month when he saw a pair walking down the street in his neighbourhood. He noted there had previously been foxes in the area, but said they have recently disappeared. "With the amount of green space we do have it is inevitable you are going to have wildlife...Didn't realize we had coyotes. That was a bit of a shock, especially the size of this one. Having that come towards you... chasing your dog really was a bit of an eye opener," said DiCenzo. "We are going to be very vigilant going forward in letting our dogs go out. We are not in a happy place right now because of that. We thought it was safe to put your dogs out, but clearly it is not." The Birch Hill Lane resident said he contacted the Oakville & Milton Humane Society (OMHS) and Town of Oakville to report the incident. He was told this is the first recorded coyote attack on a pet in his area. Donna Doyle of the Town of Oakville's Environmental Policy Department said with the arrival of spring, coyotes will be raising litters of pups in dens and as such will be more protective of their territory than usual. They will also look for more food Carmelina DiCenzo, and Anthony DiCenzo's toy poodle Belle survived a coyote attack. | photo by Nikki Wesley ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) to feed these pups with Doyle noting coyotes see small dogs and cats as prey. She advises residents keep their cats indoors and keep their dogs on leash when out for a walk and well supervised even when they are in the backyard. In this case a fence surrounding the backyard did nothing to keep the coyote out. During a coyote information meeting held in January Laura Mackasey, an OMHS animal protective services manager talked about the importance of residents supervising their dogs when they put them out. "The reality is you cannot leave your small dog unattended in the backyard for two to three hours, particularly at dusk or dawn," she said. "That is a huge risk you are taking. There is no harm in you going outside and enjoying the outdoors with your dog during those times." Getting rid of food sources like garbage, fruit from trees, and birdseed has also been previously suggested as ways of keeping coyotes from developing an interest in residential properties. While DiCenzo suggested this coyote should be captured and relocated, Town staff have noted capturing a coyote in an urban situation is extremely difficult and transporting them more than 1 km is illegal due to legislation to prevent the spread of disease and to prevent one municipality from moving a problem animal to another municipality. It was also pointed out, removing a coyote from an area accomplishes nothing as another simply moves in to claim the territory. The Town has a coyote reporting system where residents can report sightings as well as unusual behavior or people feeding coyotes. It can be accessed through www.oakville.ca. 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