One of the accidents an Embrace Pet Insurance policy covers is attack by another animal and luckily for our Embraced pets, it's not as frequent as some other accidents.
Last night, one of our policyholders, Arthur, chatted back and forth with me online about Pancho, his 1 year old Pomeranian, who he recently rescued from the jaws of a coyote in the backyard of his California house.
Hello Laura, Happy Holidays to you and your Embrace staff.
Pancho was just saved from the jaws of a coyote in our backyard. Normally, I leave the bedroom door open a crack for Pancho to go out and do his duty. It was at 8:30 on a bright, sunny Sunday morning. I heard Pancho bark, once, in the back yard. This is not normal. If he barks, it's in front and for an extended period or until he gets my attention.
I looked out the window of my office to see him dangling limply from a large coyote's jaws. I knocked loudly on the window and rushed out the back door toward the beast. He dropped Pancho in a lifeless heap on the ground, jumped up on the retaining wall and ran up the hill about 50 feet, stopped and turned around. I grabbed the barely breathing Pancho and rushed him into the house to call my Vet. Finally, after some rhythmic thoracic massage, Pancho started breathing regularly. He was in a state of shock.
With Pancho still in my arms, I walked out to see if the coyote had left. He was still sitting, looking down at us from 50 feet away. Yelling did not phase him. I pulled one of the fixed climbing ropes taught to move a tree branch. That worked to move the coyote further up the hill, but as of yesterday morning he was still there, waiting for my dog or any other pet to cross his eye line. I have since found that this is becoming a recurring problem in our neighborhood. There are lots of feral cats that make easy prey, but a dog like Pancho is even easier. So, we are spending more time in doors and only venture out if we are together and never at night.
The doctor examined Pancho on Monday morning and administered an antibiotic for the puncture wound on his neck. He will be fine, but I will never forget. Everyone needs to know how vulnerable their pets are to local predators. Much of my yard is a steep slope with plenty of foliage for these creatures to hide. Now, I am extra watchful for varmints in search of easy meals. Cheers, Arthur
After I expressed my dismay at the horror for both of them, and asked if I could share Pancho's story on the blog as an example for Accident Month, Arthur wrote back:
Sure, please use this as an example. There are predators in our midst, even in the most civilized environments. When I have told this story to local dog owners, each of them has their own horrifying tale of coyotes. One lady said that a coyote den was discovered by a nearby equestrian center and in it were found many dog and cat collars. Pancho and I are very lucky. BTW, Pancho is reluctant to venture into our yard even if I am with him. He saves what's inside until we go to the park. Arthur
Eeks - that would open your eyes wide open to the natural world. Poor Pancho :(
I've seen some coyotes on the outskirts of our village in NE Ohio so I'm really hoping they don't venture in further. Lily and the kittens get into enough trouble without an outside predator's help. I'd rather not test their pet insurance policies that way.
What kind of wildlife do you see around your neighborhood. Are they the worrying kind?
