WINTHROP HARBOR, Ill. (CBS 2) -- New reports of coyotes in the area attacking pets have dog owners on alert.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports the latest attack occurred in the 4600 block of Rose Court in Winthrop Harbor. In an area where coyote attacks are fairly common, this incident left families shaken.
A picture of Dexter before he was attacked by coyotes Saturday is in stark contrast to the 17-pound Pomeranian now. He is battered, bandaged and understandably wary of strangers. But somehow, he survived the attack.
"There's about 8, 5 to 8 wounds, pretty deep ones, around his neck, and two punctures to the trachea they had to go in and surgically repair," Nikki Easley said.
Dexter and the other family dog, a 40-pound mix breed named Bailey, were playing in the open yard last Saturday night. But when both were called in, only Bailey responded. Easley discovered the little dog not far away, on her neighbors' property.
"When I first came up on him, I thought I'd lost him. He was, I guess, in shock," Easley said.
Neighbors in the family's Winthrop Harbor subdivision say coyotes from nearby woods are often seen roaming through yards, perhaps searching for food.
"They got to go somewhere to eat," said neighbor Jim Marks. "You got a little dog like Dex, he's just a snack for them."
Coyotes are in fact common throughout Illinois but naturalists say development is increasingly pushing them further into urban areas.
Still residents in Winthrop Harbor thought their wide-open yards and neighboring woods were an asset, until now.
"The sudden realization that it could happen to anyone at any time and anywhere, even in the city, it scared us," Robert Easley said.
An electronic fence that surrounds the yard may have saved Dexter. The Easleys believe when the coyote crossed the fence it got a shock and dropped Dexter. In an y case the Easleys are not allowing their dogs in an unprotected yard any more.
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