Bold coyote causing trouble in Issaquah Highlands

A very bold coyote has been making frequent appearances in the neighborhoods of the Issaquah Highlands in recent weeks.

Numerous people have reported seeing a large, brown coyote during daylight hours on residential streets, while “three or four dogs and even more cats” have been reported as missing in just the past couple of weeks, according to Northeast Eagle Way resident Jim Wright.

Wright’s own dog Rocky was very nearly part of this group. On the morning of Nov. 21, Wright put Rocky, a 21-pound Pomeranian mix, out in the yard as usual; with a six-foot fence protecting the yard, Wright had never before questioned letting Rocky go outside alone.

“All of a sudden, I heard God-awful screaming, like he was being killed,” Wright recalled. He ran outdoors to find a “gigantic animal on top of Rocky,” holding the little dog in its teeth and shaking him. Upon hearing Wright’s shouts, the coyote bounded off, easily leaping over the six-foot fence.

“Had it been a little longer … another 30 seconds and he would’ve been gone,” Wright said of Rocky.

Wright took Rocky to the vet, who found that the dog had a three-inch-deep bite across his entire lower back, and that the bite had pulled his flesh away from his muscle. A four-inch-diameter section of skin was completely dead, and had to be cut out and covered with a shoestring-like stitch pattern. The vet estimated that the coyote had been between 45 and 50 pounds, larger than typical coyote size.

Two operations later, the resilient dog is recovering, but is still in quite a bit of pain. Wright said that Rocky’s close call was “traumatic” for both himself and for his wife Laura, and has made him question the safety of humans — especially small children — when doing outdoor activities in the Highlands.

“The thing that shocked me was how fast it happened. The speed of the attack and retreat was shocking to me,” Wright said. He has gone hiking with a knife for protection, but noted that “no knife in the world is going to save me if attacked at that speed.”

Other Highlands residents have witnessed a similar coyote in the Highlands in broad daylight.

Rachel Birdie Birrell said in an email that she sees the same coyote nearly every day while on her morning jog.

“It usually just spots me and freezes … and I keep on running — usually talking loud to try and scare it away,” she described. “Sometimes it doesn’t actually run off until I’m maybe 10 yards from it or so. A few times it started walking after I had passed it in my direction — where I would then yell at it to go away.”

Birrell said that she has only ever seen the coyote in wooded areas, but that it “wouldn’t surprise me” if it were to go in more residential areas.

“It is a very fearless animal compared to any other coyote I have run into before — definitely not something I would just say is a normal one,” Birrell said. She said that her “biggest concern” is “for those people who run/walk their dogs without leashes — because he is bold and comes into open spaces, one stray dog (or cat) would be an easy victim.”

“I don’t think he’d brave trying to attack an animal on a leash next to an owner – but never say never,” she added.