Brazen coyote caught on video chasing woman, dog

A video showing a terrified woman and her dog being chased by a coyote has been widely viewed on social media, highlighting what is shown to be a dangerous situation Old Town residents are calling on the town to fix.

The video posted by Filomena Pisano is of her 30-year-old daughter Isabella, who was walking Charlie, a Bison Frise puppy, on John Street near Gate Street when she heard a horn honking behind her. Even before she turned around, it occurred to her that the honking might be to warn her of a coyote, and when she turned, she saw one following her and gaining ground. As it got closer, she began screaming and waving her arm, whipping part of the dog leash at it. 

“I tried to run quickly,” she said. “I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

When the coyote got close she tried to lunge at it to scare it, using her other hand to keep Charlie behind her. But she wasn’t stopping the coyote, so she turned and snatched Charlie up in her arms just as the animal leapt at the puppy, trying to grab him. 

At the same time, the person in the truck who was honking jumped out and successfully chased the coyote down the street. “I had a bullhorn and a whistle with me, but I was in so much shock I didn’t think to use either of them,” she said. “He arrived just at the right time, and scared the coyote away, just as I was picking up the dog.”

Charlie’s saviour was local Tim Bala, and Isabella is sure if he hadn’t taken off after the coyote, “Charlie would have been killed.” Her experience Sunday morning was traumatic, and has left her in shock, she told The Local Sunday afternoon.

Isabella knows the family of the young boy who lives down the street from her, who was also chased by a coyote while walking their small dog, and she is convinced the coyote knows of the presence of the dogs in the neighbourhood and is hunting them. “It was preying on me and my dog. The animal knows there are dogs in the area, and he’s just waiting for a small dog so he can go for it.”

She says she won’t be walking in that area any more, and on the same day saw another girl walking a small dog, who said she had come from Garrison Village where she lives, to walk her dog in what she thought was a safe place.

Bala says when he saw the coyote, coming around the corner from Anne Street, where townhouses built in recent years have displaced coyotes, it was sauntering.

When the coyote saw a woman walking her dog, further along the street, Bala began honking, at first to scare the coyote away, and pulled into a driveway hoping to get it to change directions. Instead, it just went around the back of his truck, and Bala said, “his ears and tail were tucked down. He looked like he was stalking prey.”

Bala pulled out and kept honking, speeding through the neighbourhood in an effort at that point to warn Isabella. When he realized the coyote was about to grab the dog, he jumped out and started running after it to scare it off.
By then, he says, the noise of Isabella screaming and his honking had brought several neighbours outside to see what was happening, and he thinks the commotion was enough to convince the coyote to turn and run.

“She can really scream,” he said. “She was loud, and it was blood-curdling, all while she was trying to hold on to her dog.”

He agrees with Isabella’s assessment of the timing — if he hadn’t driven by when he did, Charlie would likely have been captured by the coyote. “I feel like I got there just in time.”

Bala was in the area to pick up his own dog, Otis, from his parents, who had been caring for Otis while Tim was away. He lives on Niven Road, just on the edge of Garrison Village, with a field beside him, and has heard all the stories about coyotes in the neighbourhood, although he hasn’t had any problems with them.

He says he used to see a lot of rabbits in the area, but not this year. He believes the cycle of rabbit population, and the shortage this year, is contributing to the aggressive behaviour of the coyotes. “To them, a small dog looks the same as a rabbit, and that’s their dinner,” he said.

The neighbourhood, he added, “is such a beautiful, perfect place to walk, but now people are afraid to. I don’t know what can be done, but now, with that footage, maybe the situation will be taken more seriously.”

Bala said he is an animal-lover, usually stopping to take pictures of any wildlife he sees, and he understands coyotes are appearing in urban areas because development has taken away their habitat. “We’re displacing them, by building on their domain.”

But at the same time, they are becoming more brazen, “I think because they’re hungry.” And in this situation, from what he saw, this particular coyote is a danger, and needs to be removed.n“I think the humane society should do their part.”

Pisano says she is proud of her daughter for the bravery she showed, protecting her dog, and very grateful to Bala for coming to their rescue. “He’s a Superman,” she said.

There is a virtual meeting today, Wednesday at 6 p.m., with Coyote Watch Canada, the Lincoln County Humane Society, Niagara Regional Police Services, and the Ministry of Natural Resources participating. No registration is required — it can be viewed online: livestream.com/notl The town’s website says in an emergency situation with a coyote, such as a coyote cornering humans  or showing signs of potential rabies, call 9-1-1 immediately. Police are authorized to handle these situations and frequently engage the Humane Society when they attend the call.