New Lenox family warns others after coyotes attack dogs
By Brian Stanley bstanley@stmedianetwork.com January 11, 2012 5:56PM
New Lenox resident Caryn DeMarco sits with her dogs Kyle (top right) and Jill (left) Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, in New Lenox. Both dogs survived being attacked by coyotes. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
Updated: February 13, 2012 9:19AM
NEW LENOX — Caryn and John DeMarco let their dogs out when they got home around 6:45 p.m. Monday.
The small dogs usually stay close to their home in the Arrowhaven subdivision, so they let Kyle, a 13-year-old Bichon, and Jill, a 12-year-old boxer-terrier mix into the yard and finished bringing in a microwave from the car.
But a few minutes later Caryn walked out to see both her dogs across the street — being set upon by a pair of coyotes.
“It was somewhat dark, but I could see Kyle was bleeding a lot. I screamed and ran over,” she said.
The coyotes ran as DeMarco checked out her dogs. Blood was pouring from Kyle’s neck as he was put in the car, ruining John’s shirts while he held him.
The first veterinary office Carly DeMarco drove her parents to was closed.
Hickory Creek Animal Clinic was closed, too, but Caryn’s pounding brought staffers to the door.
“The vet said the teeth just missed the jugular (vein),” Caryn DeMarco said.
Kyle is expected to recover, and the family returned to find Jill had suffered some “scratches and scrapes,” but was not badly injured.
Caryn said she hadn’t seen coyotes in the neighborhood before, but wanted her experience to remind pet owners to keep an eye out when their animals are outside.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources website said coyote attacks are a danger for small animals year-round, especially at night.
A Will County Animal Control supervisor said there have been some recent reports of coyotes in the area, but not an unusually high number of calls.
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