LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The bond Jaylee Wells and her pet Chihuahua, Espy, have symbolizes why people call a dog man's best friend.
"He'll always come up to me and just be excited," she said.
Wells is holding her dog closer than ever before after a traumatic Wednesday morning at her Arnoldtown Road home near Iroquois Park.
"I was just really upset, because I didn't think anything could happen if he was just at my house," Jaylee said.
Her mom, Jennifer, just returned from dropping her off at school. Espy got to go along for the ride.
As Jennifer sat the Chihuahua down near a tree-line, "I heard a screech from that little dog," she said.
When she turned around, "I just kept thinking a dog's got him, a dog's got him," Jennifer continued.
She and her relatives jumped into action, running into the woods. What they say they found were coyote dens.
"There's over eight or 10 of them up there," Jennifer said.
Somehow a battered, bruised and scared Espy found his way back home.
Other pets haven't been as lucky.
"I've had two cats missing. No sign of them," Jennifer Hayes said.
It all has people in this southern Jefferson County neighborhood on edge.
"It's scary," Hayes said.
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife says this type of incident should have you remembering a couple things.
"A coyote doesn't want to be where you are. It will avoid people if at all possible," Mark Marraccini said.
A leash, Marraccini added, could also prevent a lot of heartache.
"I'd keep my dogs close to me," he said. "I'd keep them on a leash and not let them wander."
The Wells family will keep it all in mind while nursing their pup back to health after a pretty crazy tale of survival.
Copyright 2016 WDRB News. All Rights Reserved.
