Woman's dog mistaken for coyote, set loose in wild

[airenlow]

Back in '95 our male brittany spaniel escaped from the backyard...a week later, we found him at the pound labeled as a female cocker. I have little/no trust in shelter identifications...

 

[mike17l]

I agree with Butch, I can see where they made the mistake, would I have made the mistake? No, but I am familiar with many dog breeds as well as with coyotes.
Should every shelter worker know everything there is to know about every breed of dog out there, as well as everything about every member of the genus Canis? No.
Is there a potential lawsuit here? Only if the owner knows a scumbag ambulance chaser. The owner will lose any lawsuit they even think about, the dog was not secured in the yard and did not have identification, end of story.

Hope they find their dog.

 

[bitsy]

Reminds me of the time the RSPCA mistook a tortoise for a turtle and left it in a bucket of water.

 

[Butch]

Is there a potential lawsuit here? Only if the owner knows a scumbag ambulance chaser. The owner will lose any lawsuit they even think about, the dog was not secured in the yard and did not have identification, end of story.

Hope they find their dog.

Thanks for making the lawsuit comment, I forgot to say something in my original rambling. IMO if you sue over the issue you are much worse than the person that made the mistake, people that make frivolous law suits such as these are as bad as thieves.

 

[starsevol]

Let me clarify my position on this issue.
When I first read this, I got the impression that the woman's dog was in the backyard, and the officer went into the yard and got her.
And if that had happened to me, yes, I would get an attorney and sue so fast their heads would spin.

However, leaving a dog outside alone, when you are not in the house is foolhardy at best, and a tragedy just waiting to happen.
And having a dog with no id or micro chip is also really really nothing short of stupid.
If the dog was found wandering, then it is just a sad state of events and totally preventable by the dog's owner. The real victim here is the dog, and I hope that not alot of time had elapsed before the woman found out what had happened, and that the dog is found safe and sound....

 

[sciencechick]

I don't know that AKC means that much. The registration shows pedigree, not conformation to the standard. Enough generations without carrying on with selective breeding and the pedigree won't matter so much.

It still was probably a dumb mistake, but not as dumb as mistaking a Shiba Inu that you would see at a dog show as a coyote.

 

[azhketh]

From that (poor) pic, she does look a bit like a coyote to me, but really? A tame, really old coyote? What are the odds of THAT even existing? Those people need to look at a few breed books or something..:shrugs:

 

[Outcast]

I don't know, 50+ years of selective breeding could possibly tame the coyote.... lol. Aren't there some type of Russian fox that they selectively bred for color and after about 50 years or so they tamed down, actually starting to wag their tails and bark and obey commands like common house dogs? It may have been my imagination... but who knows...

On topic, I hope she finds her dog.

 

[mike17l]

Let me clarify my position on this issue.
When I first read this, I got the impression that the woman's dog was in the backyard, and the officer went into the yard and got her.
And if that had happened to me, yes, I would get an attorney and sue so fast their heads would spin.

However, leaving a dog outside alone, when you are not in the house is foolhardy at best, and a tragedy just waiting to happen.
And having a dog with no id or micro chip is also really really nothing short of stupid.
If the dog was found wandering, then it is just a sad state of events and totally preventable by the dog's owner. The real victim here is the dog, and I hope that not alot of time had elapsed before the woman found out what had happened, and that the dog is found safe and sound....

Spot on. :spinner:

 

[Raptor]

What kind of wildlife expert would say that? That's the mentality that caused wolves and coyotes to be hunted to near extinction.

Coyotes are a nuisance animal. Especially when you're in a rural area and have livestock.

I don't know, 50+ years of selective breeding could possibly tame the coyote.... lol. Aren't there some type of Russian fox that they selectively bred for color and after about 50 years or so they tamed down, actually starting to wag their tails and bark and obey commands like common house dogs? It may have been my imagination... but who knows...

On topic, I hope she finds her dog.

About 20, actually.

 

[MysticExotics]

Coyotes are a nuisance animal. Especially when you're in a rural area and have livestock.

Only because we, as humans invade their homes, by tearing down their habitat, to build massive subdivisions, forcing them to look elsewhere for food. They're simply looking for easy meals.
Don't get me wrong, I am not part of any ELF movments or anything, but I feel that more people should consider what an impact we have on the wildlife, when we destroy so much of their habitiat, then complain when they seek out food, often being domestic animals.
I empathise with anyone losing any of their domestic animal(s) to wildlife, however, humans create much of the problem, without viable solutions.

I would love to see, for all of the habitat taken away, provide a protected area for them to live, not just continue taking away their habitat. JMO.

I hope she finds her dog. I cannot imagine what she's going though. For this reason, my dogs are never left outside unattended.

 

[Hypancistrus]

That is ridiculous... I can sort of see from the photo, the physical resemblance, but I agree... a TAME coyote??? Really??

Also don't think the lady has much chance... elderly dog... in the woods... not a good thing.

Our dogs do not stay in the yard when we aren't home, either. For that matter, they don't stay in the yard longer than 15 minutes or so when we aren't WITH THEM. I don't trust any of the people that live around me not to steal or torture them.

 

[ceduke]

I guess I'm the only one that see's the resemblance...

In this picture, of the actual dog in question, yes, I can see the mistake, the coat is matted, she is very old in the face and the tail doesn't have the signature curl to it, not to mention her coat has a darker, tri-color look to it.

Yes, someone messed up particularly the shelter worker but those are often volunteers and are not well trained in dog breeds. If the animal was found with out tag or collar the biggest indicator that the dog was not a stray was her willingness to come up to the officer and her friendly disposition. The nuisance wildlife control specialist was correct to say that Coyotes are to be killed or release, from my understanding he did not see the animal and was strickly going off what his professional knowledge of Coyotes, and to who ever related wolves to coyotes there is a huge difference especially in population numbers. I'll probably get flamed pretty good for this post but from what I see as a dog owner, wildlife trapper, and having sent lots of time in the woods watching coyotes, I in my personal and professional experience can see how the mistake occurred.

Look at Copper's small ears, and then the bid radar ears of the coyote.

ZERO resemblance.

I suppose I can see a passing resemblance in face shape, but that's about it. I hope the dog is found before she is killed by actual coyotes.

Even dogs that don't stay in the yard can get out. We nearly lost my mom's dog (Who is actually 50% coyote) on several occasions: Once she tore a screen out, once she ate her way through a SOLID wood door, and twice she got out after learning how to unlock and open the back door. So I'm not going to berate the owner for her dog getting out, it could happen to anyone.

 

[VickyChaiTea]

I think everyone is to blame here. The woman should have had at LEAST a collar on her dog, anyone who does not have a collar (with i.d on it) or microchip on their dog is not only asking for trouble, but being irresponsible.

But the shelter/whoever found the dog should REALLY have known. It's nothing short of terrifyingly sheer stupidity that sentenced that dog to what most likely will be a very short, unpleasant life.

 

[azhketh]

I don't know, 50+ years of selective breeding could possibly tame the coyote.... lol. Aren't there some type of Russian fox that they selectively bred for color and after about 50 years or so they tamed down, actually starting to wag their tails and bark and obey commands like common house dogs? It may have been my imagination... but who knows...

On topic, I hope she finds her dog.

I remember seeing something about that on Animal Planet a long time ago.

Seems like it would take A LOT of selective breeding...in every coydog pic I've ever seen, the coydog had the "crazy eyes."

 

[Raptor]

Only because we, as humans invade their homes, by tearing down their habitat, to build massive subdivisions, forcing them to look elsewhere for food. They're simply looking for easy meals.
Don't get me wrong, I am not part of any ELF movments or anything, but I feel that more people should consider what an impact we have on the wildlife, when we destroy so much of their habitiat, then complain when they seek out food, often being domestic animals.
I empathise with anyone losing any of their domestic animal(s) to wildlife, however, humans create much of the problem, without viable solutions.

I would love to see, for all of the habitat taken away, provide a protected area for them to live, not just continue taking away their habitat. JMO.

I hope she finds her dog. I cannot imagine what she's going though. For this reason, my dogs are never left outside unattended.

Lol, I live in a fairly rural area. It's still rural ten miles in any direction. I myself sit on 80 acres. There are several people with several times that. Seeing deer, rabbits, and various other prey animals is nothing uncommon. There's plenty of food around. I've luckily never lost any animals to predators (mainly thanks to guardian dogs who will happily eat said predators). My neighbors haven't been so lucky.

Either way, the shelter's conduct makes me shake my head.

 

[MysticExotics]

Lol, I live in a fairly rural area. It's still rural ten miles in any direction. I myself sit on 80 acres. There are several people with several times that. Seeing deer, rabbits, and various other prey animals is nothing uncommon. There's plenty of food around. I've luckily never lost any animals to predators (mainly thanks to guardian dogs who will happily eat said predators). My neighbors haven't been so lucky.

Either way, the shelter's conduct makes me shake my head.

I am glad to hear that you haven't lost any animals. (I do not mean that sarcastically.)
IMO, they become a "problem", even in rural areas, because of so many housing developments going up, they have to move somewhere. At least that's how it is here. It disrupts the whole chain of wildlife. I know in my dad's area (fairly rural) they have had a increased # of cougar.
They go after easiest prey. Cats & dogs, or livestock, in a fenced area, unable to escape them, are easy prey.

I am sad for those that lose their pets. I also feel that the majority of the problem is human based in the first place.

This story, among others, is evidence that local humane societies need more education.
I would love to become more involved in animal control, for the benefit of local animals. Having experience with Bengal cats, ferrets & now snakes, I have seen how much education is needed in these areas.
For example, there are shelters automatically euthanize Bengal cats, because they view them as wild animals, or hybrids. They are not. They are domesticated. They are descendants of Asian Leopard cats, but they have to be beyond 4 generations to be considered a Bengal. They are no danger to kids & pets, any more than a normal domestic cat would be. Yet they get the death penalty because of what they are.

 

[Raptor]

I am glad to hear that you haven't lost any animals. (I do not mean that sarcastically.)
IMO, they become a "problem", even in rural areas, because of so many housing developments going up, they have to move somewhere. At least that's how it is here. It disrupts the whole chain of wildlife. I know in my dad's area (fairly rural) they have had a increased # of cougar.
They go after easiest prey. Cats & dogs, or livestock, in a fenced area, unable to escape them, are easy prey.

I am sad for those that lose their pets. I also feel that the majority of the problem is human based in the first place.

This story, among others, is evidence that local humane societies need more education.
I would love to become more involved in animal control, for the benefit of local animals. Having experience with Bengal cats, ferrets & now snakes, I have seen how much education is needed in these areas.
For example, there are shelters automatically euthanize Bengal cats, because they view them as wild animals, or hybrids. They are not. They are domesticated. They are descendants of Asian Leopard cats, but they have to be beyond 4 generations to be considered a Bengal. They are no danger to kids & pets, any more than a normal domestic cat would be. Yet they get the death penalty because of what they are.

There hasn't been any development beside putting up fences for easily a decade. he nearest neighbor is a quarter mile away.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind operating a reptile rescue. I doubt I'd accept the larger snakes though.

 

[Butch]

There hasn't been any development beside putting up fences for easily a decade. he nearest neighbor is a quarter mile away.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind operating a reptile rescue. I doubt I'd accept the larger snakes though.

I used to hunt in a county in N. Florida that has seen any economical or population growth in probably the last 25 years yet I still run into similar problems with coyotes as I do down here in Hillsborough county in a residential/agricultural environment. It doesn't matter where they are coyotes will be pest, they reproduce too quickly for small game to keep them feed therefore they move on to livestock and pets and many times skip small game straight to domestic animals. I've remove a coyote and litter from our farm this year only to have another pair move in with in a few months and within that time I saw a slight rise in the small game population only to have it desecrated right after the new pair moved in. Until you've witnessed their destruction on an ecosystem first hand it's hard to grasp the impact I speak of.

 

[Maize411]

I really hope she finds her dog..but I do agree with most of what has been said here..She should not have left the dog unattended..She should have at least had some kind of collar and ID tag on her if she knew the dog was not micro-chipped..So I do see that everyone involved was to blame on some point..except the dog...poor old boy