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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, January 25, 2012 · 10 Humane society continuing to patrol school areas Continued from page 1 and then pursued the two girls as they ran to the backdoor and inside Sydney's home. Julia was not seriously injured. Halton police responded moments later and shot and killed a coyote found in the same general area. Manager of Animal Protective Services with the Oakville & Milton Humane Society Amanda Barrett said the coyote killed on Thursday was an adult female, which on "We are trying to help out the community as best we can with the resources we have by doing patrols in the general area during school times; so if kids are out, we can at least try to help by chasing the coyote off or whatever we have to do at that point." Amanda Barrett, Oakville & Milton Humane Society the outside, showed no sign of disease or starvation. Ministry of Natural Resources Biologist John Pisapio would not comment on this specific incident, but did say feeding coyotes, either intentionally or unintentionally (poor garbage storage), can cause the wild animals to lose their fear of humans and become aggressive. Coyotes that are used to receiving food from people, he said, may approach or follow people in the hopes of receiving a treat. Despite being confident the coyote that bit Julia was the one that was killed, Halton police are recommending residents remain vigilant around wooded areas. The Oakville & Milton Humane Society is recom- mending residents carry a stick or umbrella with them when walking in or near wooded areas and also said pets should be kept on short leashes so their owners can defend them if the need arises. If a coyote is encountered residents should make themselves appear as big as possible and make lots of noise, particularly noise coyotes aren't used to like blowing a whistle or jingling keys. "We're trying to help out the community as best we can with the resources we have by doing patrols in the general area during school times," said Barrett. "So if kids are out we can at least try to help by chasing the coyote off or whatever we have to do at that point."