GOSHEN, Ky. (WDRB) -- A coyote attacked an Oldham County dog just feet away from its' owner.
It happened in a matter of seconds. Joy Meyer had just got home on August 18 a little after 10 p.m. She let all three of her dogs out the front door. She turned to flip on the porch light and that's when the coyote attacked.
"She must have put up quite a fight," Meyer said.
Meyer was 15 feet away from the dogs when it happened.
Rosie on Sept. 3, 2023. (WDRB photo)
"I knew exactly what was happening when I heard I heard her screams. Her yelps and I knew from the sound of it that it was a coyote attack," Meyer said.
It attacked her dog named Rosie.
"The most docile one that we have out of the three dogs just so laid back so calm, so kind of timid, always at your feet," Meyer said.
The black and white, furry, American Eskimo Pomeranian mix, nearly lost her life.
"Screaming like a mad woman is what broke up that fight. But not until we got inside that I realized the damage had been done in those three seconds. It was awful," Meyer said.
There were bite marks right above her spine and ripped up skin sent Rosie to the Metropolitan Animal Hospital for three days.
"It was a very well planned out attack on this coyotes part," she said. "And it just really opens my eyes to how much more aware we need to be as pet owners in this neighborhood."
Meyer said she's always been hyper aware of coyotes in Oldham County but now she's keeping Rosie on a leash or in her new outdoor kennel.
"Years ago, we would have definitely thought they would never have approached us with me being there," Meyer said. "And that's just not the case anymore. We really need to step up our preventative measures with our pets."
The small 8-year-old now has less fur and a lot of stitches, but is back home as the miracle of the neighborhood.
"She is a fighter that is for sure," Meyer said. "I have no doubt. I'm not naïve to know that she's been affected. And is traumatized by this. But she's carrying on so well. I'm really grateful that she survived and my heart just breaks for all those pets that haven't had her same fate."
Rosie has a day left in her antibiotics and soon she'll get her stitches removed.
In July, the Oldham County Humane Society issued a warning about coyotes in Goshen. Coyotes are active in all 120 Kentucky counties and they can attack large and small dogs.
Joy Meyer and her dog Rosie on Sept. 3, 2023. (WDRB photo)
"If you go up and down 42 or any of our larger highways, you'll see acres and acres and acres of land just being torn down for development of condominiums, apartments, and neighborhoods; and with this amount of development, it's just pushing these packs of coyotes into our neighborhoods," Meyer said. "With the people that move into this area that aren't aware of, you know, thinking that through, moving into a comfy rural area, I just want them more aware of the safety precautions they need to take with their pets."
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources said you should keep your pets on a leash, change up their routines because coyotes recognize patterns, and do not let your dog chase or “play” with a coyote because the coyote will defend itself and your dog may be injured.
For more information about how to keep your pet safe and away from coyotes, click here.
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