Edmond Residents Concerned Over Coyote Attacks On Small Pets

Neighbors in Edmond’s Arrowhead housing addition are keeping a closer eye on their pets after several animals have been killed or are missing. The likely culprit is coyotes.  

Bill Henderson lost his best friend Sunday.

He believes his dog, BoJangles, was dragged off by coyotes.

He’s seen them in his yard before and, and there are tracks in the mud of a dried up creek bed behind his house.

On Sunday, when BoJangles disappeared, Henderson feared the worst, and he was right.  

"Jonathan, our oldest grandson, started down the creek. We found BoJangles half eaten body down in the creek," Henderson said.

City officials said this is the time of year when they’re seeing more coyotes. The pups are leaving their dens, are searching for food and can’t tell the difference between prey and pets.

"Go out with them,” said Edmond police spokeswoman Jenny Wagnon. “One thing you can also do is put out some kind of noise maker if you want to set out something that makes noise while your animals are out that is a deterrent as well."

Wildlife experts say as Edmond expands, coyotes make their way to residential neighborhoods looking for food.

"They’re going to be looking for easy meals, pet food that's left out, maybe garbage that isn't properly handled," said Don P. Brown with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

Coyotes generally hunt at night and tend to be afraid of humans. They can be hunted year round in Oklahoma, but it’s illegal to use a firearm in residential areas. They can be trapped but it should only be done by a professional.  

The City of Edmond is not trapping coyotes but Henderson said it should.

"This is a real problem,” Henderson said. “I mean what do we do, wait till a two year old gets attacked? And then is it a real issue?"

Experts said coyotes generally don’t attack humans and they’ll stay away from small pets as long as they know there’s a human nearby.