Coyote attacks spur safety precautions in Tustin

[JRLeft]

TUSTIN – Joyce Germain was with her dog, Flea, on her front lawn about 4 a.m. last month when she saw a coyote heading toward them.

She yelled and scared the creature away. As the coyote ran off, Flea took off after it. The coyote turned, scooped up the nine-pound Chihuahua-Papillon mix, and headed toward a neighborhood park.

That's where Germain's husband, Jonathan, found the coyote. The animal dropped Flea, and Jonathan Germain rushed the dog to the veterinarian. Flea died the next day.

Flea was the third small dog in the community to be attacked by a coyote in the past month, said Pam Hunt, who works for the Laurelwood neighborhood's homeowners association.

"They're real brazen. They're getting very bold," Hunt said.

So far this year, Tustin police have recorded 13 coyote sightings, including a pack of five or six coyotes near Bryan Avenue and Jamboree Road, about 2 miles from Laurelwood. Residents speculate that coyote encounters will increase as construction expands at the Tustin Legacy development and the Tustin Ranch Road extension through the former Marine base.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/coyote-373645-coyotes-residents.html

There have been enough warnings about coyotes, pet owners are irresponsible. They coyotes do not know any better, they are looking for food.

[kestrel91316]

1. Coyotes are not the least bit unusual in suburban SoCal. Unless you haven't been paying any

attention for the past 30 years. Or more.

[abumbyanyothername]

2. There is a coyote with a range

that includes the very bottom of one of my regular hiking trails in Los Liones Canyon (Pacific Palisades/Los Angeles). I have spotted him several times at the very bottom of the trail, within 100 yards or so of the very busy intersection of Sunset and PCH.

[AsahinaKimi]

3. Coyotes are often found even in Los Angeles .. especially in the San Fernando Valley ..

People have been warned not to let their cats out at night. Most that do, end up as Coyote food. Same for dogs.

[Matariki]

4. If their dog was on a leash it would still be alive.

[frylock]

5. "They're real brazen. They're getting very bold," Hunt said.

uhhhhh... your dog ran after the coyote. this one's on you.