07-10-2012, 01:22 PM
Two nights ago, at about 1am, I was outside with my kids dog doing my best to not cuss while it took it's time doing it's duty. It's a pomeranian, 15 years old, mostly blind, deaf and prone to just stand in one spot a lot which doesn't do much to get it's system working like I wanted it to work. My kid is only 12 so I get the late night duty. Our other dog, a 13 year old golden retriever/shepard mix named Koda, does just fine on her own but always comes along for the smaller dogs business.
About 2 minutes into the outing a coyote sang a few notes which got Koda's attention so off she went following the song dogs cry and scent. I tried calling her back but she was either out of range or to into the chase to obey. I heard the second and third song dogs crys and knew they were hunting. They use a trick where one of them gets a dog to chase then stops where the pack is waiting. They are efficient hunters and don't waste a lot of time killing their pry. I have heard them hunting for years but never my dog and never as close as they were.
I was wearing shorts, a tshirt, crock rubber shoes and only had a flashlite for a weapon. I knew if I went to the house for a gun they would kill Koda long before I got back out. So I charged into the night, after koda, yelling like a banshee and making my best big dog growling noise. About 100 yards later I topped a ridge as the second coyote bite into Kodas neck. Koda was yelping and trying to get away but they had her circled and were intent on her being their next meal. I got within arms reach of one of them, growled as load as my out of breath lungs would allow and hit it with the flashlite. The coyote yelp and the pack, there were 3 or 4, I am not sure, turned it's attention on me. Koda ran for the house and I charged the biggest of the pack. It broke it's aggresive stance and took off. The others followed.
I slowly limped limped back to the house, chest hurting like hell and feet full off cactii, where I found my wife standing in the front yard with my Glock. She was yelling asking if I was alright and telling me she had my gun. The dogs and I survived which makes it salty dog 1 - song dogs 0 and I don't plan on giving them a rematch. For the rest of the summer I will take the glock with on late night walks.
We live about 4 miles from town but are surrounded by houses on 3 sides and a ranch on the other. All the lots in our area are 10-20 acres and the ranch is just under 70,000 acres so we get lots of wild life. About every 5-6 years, when the deer herd gets to about 10 a mountain lion shows up and takes one ever 10 days until the heard is at 2-3 then leaves. We had a black bear eat all the fruit off the plum and apple trees last summer. Country living.
About 2 minutes into the outing a coyote sang a few notes which got Koda's attention so off she went following the song dogs cry and scent. I tried calling her back but she was either out of range or to into the chase to obey. I heard the second and third song dogs crys and knew they were hunting. They use a trick where one of them gets a dog to chase then stops where the pack is waiting. They are efficient hunters and don't waste a lot of time killing their pry. I have heard them hunting for years but never my dog and never as close as they were.
I was wearing shorts, a tshirt, crock rubber shoes and only had a flashlite for a weapon. I knew if I went to the house for a gun they would kill Koda long before I got back out. So I charged into the night, after koda, yelling like a banshee and making my best big dog growling noise. About 100 yards later I topped a ridge as the second coyote bite into Kodas neck. Koda was yelping and trying to get away but they had her circled and were intent on her being their next meal. I got within arms reach of one of them, growled as load as my out of breath lungs would allow and hit it with the flashlite. The coyote yelp and the pack, there were 3 or 4, I am not sure, turned it's attention on me. Koda ran for the house and I charged the biggest of the pack. It broke it's aggresive stance and took off. The others followed.
I slowly limped limped back to the house, chest hurting like hell and feet full off cactii, where I found my wife standing in the front yard with my Glock. She was yelling asking if I was alright and telling me she had my gun. The dogs and I survived which makes it salty dog 1 - song dogs 0 and I don't plan on giving them a rematch. For the rest of the summer I will take the glock with on late night walks.
We live about 4 miles from town but are surrounded by houses on 3 sides and a ranch on the other. All the lots in our area are 10-20 acres and the ranch is just under 70,000 acres so we get lots of wild life. About every 5-6 years, when the deer herd gets to about 10 a mountain lion shows up and takes one ever 10 days until the heard is at 2-3 then leaves. We had a black bear eat all the fruit off the plum and apple trees last summer. Country living.