Warning: This story has some disturbing details that may upset some readers
Bear is a golden retriever Akita mix 14-year-old dog that was recently attacked in Lac la Nonne, north of Edmonton.
This is Bear’s second coyote attack. The first attack a few years ago had him badly injured with his underside and genitals ripped apart.
Debra Boyle, his owner, is unsure of when he was attacked this time.
“It was so infected that the vet probably drained out two cups of blood and pus out of his leg,” detailed Boyle.
“Bear was limping around for a few days when it was hot. On Friday (July 12) we saw that his leg was swollen, and we took him to the vet.”
The vet found infected puncture wounds and surmised that it had to be something big that attacked Bear.
Based on the seriousness of the infection and the type of puncture marks the vet suspects a coyote did the damage.
The vet advised Boyle that the infection would have killed Bear had she not brought him in when she did.
Bear has to return to the vet again on Thursday, July 18.
He has been eating and drinking and is enjoying his time outside on the porch.
The swelling has gone down in his leg according to Boyle.
In Bear’s first attack it was a pack of coyotes that attacked him.
The assumption is that he must have wandered to close to the den.
Boyle and people in Lac La Nonne are noticing coyotes are getting braver in approaching yards and houses.
The coyotes don’t seem to be afraid of loud noises anymore.
“I hear them all the time and it seems to me that they are closer than they have ever been,” commented Boyle.
Boyle explained that the farmer who has land across the road from her property used to hunt coyotes and that seemed to curb the problem close to her.
The property has sold and there have not been gunshots heard since by Boyle.
Boyle questions what can be done in the County to avoid a potential attack on someone’s grandchildren that might be playing in a yard unsupervised.
