This is our red heeler mix, Swiper. I like to think of him as a 'dingo impersonator'...
Posted on 06/25/2008 9:34:41 AM PDT by Daffynition
KEYSTONE — One afternoon in mid April, Cindy Adams heard rustling.
She knew there was a swamp nearby, so she didn't pay the noise any mind.
Then about 4:30 p.m., she looked up and saw what she initially thought were two big German shepherds.
A closer look revealed something else. Something unshaven. Something with big ears and a furry tail.
"It was the coyotes," she said.
Adams didn't know if she should stand still, run or scream.
"They just totally ignored me, went off the back end of the property and left," she said.
It wasn't Adams the coyotes wanted. It was Kissy, her now deceased Russian blue cat. And Bonnie, Christine Nance's dead black and white one. And Oscar, David von Thaden's late orange and white feline.
By the neighborhood's own count, at least three cats have died since April, when neighbors first spotted coyotes in this rural area. And at least one more is recovering after an encounter with the howling predator. Now, folks are packing up their cats, dogs and food and locking everything inside their homes and businesses before dusk.
"We're having to lock up every durn cat in the neighborhood, which is a hassle," said Mark Adams, a foreman at L&D Farms on Crescent Road. "That's the only time they like to get out and prowl around. Now they're sleeping during the day and trapped in the building at night. It's not really fair, but it's either that or they're gonna get killed."
On Tuesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission couldn't confirm the number of missing or dead cats, but spokesman Gary Morse said "these incidents with depredation on free-ranging pets and livestock are not uncommon."
According to Morse, coyotes have been documented in every county in the state.
There's not much the commission can do about them, so folks in Keystone are starting to take matters into their own hands.
Every morning, Mark Adams hops in his golf cart and checks for coyote prints. After multiple coyote sightings were reported, he built a rack on his golf cart and slid a loaded .30-30 Marlin rifle inside.
"I'm going to have one of their heads on my golf cart one of these days," he said.
Two weeks ago, Tom Peterson, a hunter who has lived in Keystone for 30 years, used an electronic calling device that sounded like a distressed rabbit to lure the coyotes into shooting range.
"But they're smart," said Peterson, whose encounters with coyotes in Keystone dates back six or seven years. "They're very wary of humans."
The last time anyone saw a coyote was Father's Day, when Peterson spotted one crossing Tarpon Springs and Blake roads.
It's not that Peterson and Adams have anything against wildlife. Adams said he loves the deer, wild turkeys and pigs that roam through Keystone.
But "we don't love the coyotes," he said.
"If they want to live out here and leave everybody else alone, more power to 'em. But they're not going to come over here and start killing all the stuff that we like. Somebody's going to have to pay."
This is our red heeler mix, Swiper. I like to think of him as a 'dingo impersonator'...
“We have coyotes that were bred to Alaskan Huskies and then let loose in the wild...”
Not a good idea by whomever did it. When I lived in the California backcountry, idiot cityfolk would let loose cute Fluffy out in the bush. Then cute Fluffy would revert to his wild ways and pack with other Rovers and Fluffys let loose by the damn stupid cityfolk.
Before you knew it, we’d have wild dog packs running around. I had to carry a 12 gauge and strap a buntline to my hip just to walk around my property. I managed to rescue a couple of dogs that broke from the pack and turned them into the local humane society. They were starving and distressed. The rest were hamburger if they got into range.
People who let their pets loose in the wild should be whipped.
Where I grew up, folks KNEW not to put pets on the menu for wild animals.
If folks move out into the sagebrush, they need to realize THEY are the intruders.
Sorry, but I have no sympathy for stupidity. Anyone who allows a pet or child outside in a relatively wild area (even an urban area has its predators) without supervision has a LARGE ration of stupidity.
Is that a full coyote? When I lived in Minnesota, we had an animal in the back of our property that looked just like that. It was also huge.
You’re welcome.
Handy for big game hunting on the 17th hole.
“Anyone who has seen a coyote as big as a Shepherd please raise your hand.”
Hubby was out one day and when he cam home, I said, I saw a coyote out back as big as a German Shepard, he said they are not that big.
Well, he soon changed his mind when the coyote came back and he saw him.
I am raising my hand, he was as big as a Greman Shepard.
Exactly! My cats used to be indoor/outdoor until we moved to an area that coyotes frequented.
They are all indoor only and I never have to worry about them...all four of 'em!
Looks to me like a lot of firepower for one old flea bitten varment. But keep up the good work..
No, it was in Whatcom County. The idiot lived in Birch Bay and had been ordered by the humane society to turn over the dogs/coyotes to be put down, but the man refused and let them loose.
They used to roam the golf course at Semiahmoo. I remember one time I saw one walking down the golf course and I called my family into the kitchen to try to figure out what it was. No one was sure because of the thick coat of fur and the very bush tail.
Thank you. :-)
Any excuse to post the dog or the kids...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I have a blue heeler. Just a tiny bit wild and edgy. It’s the Dingo in him. He wanted to eat small children until he realized that they could throw frizbees or grow up to throw frizbees or just sit on a frizbee and look cute.
I feel ALMOST sorry for the critters that tries to mess with my 3 legged tom cat! Yeah, he only has 3 legs and still the big dogs are afraid of him. lol
I have 2 friends with blue heelers and I have to tell you, I LOVE THEM DOGS! They bring them with them when they come to visit. Amazing dogs!
They need to contact the ACME Varmint Removal Company. It has all sorts of good things that work on coyotes.
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