After an aggressive coyote encounter a week ago, Tanya Barkley says she can’t quite overcome her fear and still hasn’t taken her four-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel Lilly for a morning walk.
“It just kept coming at us no matter what I did, and that’s why I ran to my house. I was thankful that I was close enough (to home),” she told Global News.
Barkley said she was up early, taking Lilly for the morning ritual at 4:30 a.m. on March 14.
“I let her do her business and kind of turned around I saw these dogs. I looked and those are coyotes, but they were large coyotes.”
One of the coyotes immediately turned and began following them. Barkley made a beeline to her front door a few metres away.
“I started yelling at it and it started to pick up pace,” she said. “And I started yelling and waving my arms a little bit more and I ran up my stairs, and the coyote ran up the stairs behind me and I literally slammed the door in its face.”
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Once she regained her breath, she went to work and dialled 311 to report the aggressive encounter. But she wasn’t happy with the response.
“Pretty much nothing,” she said with a laugh. “They said unless the coyote was aggressive, or going through garbage or an attack, they couldn’t really do much about it.”
“I kind of felt discouraged because I thought this was pretty aggressive. I was kind of run to my door by this animal and I don’t think anything is going to be done.”
In response to an interview request, the City of Calgary told Global News it is “investigating this incident and, as a result, cannot share further details at this time.”
“If you are concerned about an overly bold or aggressive coyote, contact 311,” the city said in a statement.
“City staff will investigate and determine the appropriate response. Calls to 311 about coyote sightings are also appreciated. The city uses this data to look for trends in activity. ”
Barkley said she is waiting for her reply but doesn’t want anyone or their pets to get hurt.
“I live in a neighbourhood with little kids, elderly people with small dogs, and they were not afraid of me whatsoever, they just wanted my dog.”
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