After an aggressive coyote encounter a week ago, Tanya Barkley says she can’t quite overcome her fear and still hasn’t taken her four-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel Lilly for a morning walk.
“It just kept coming at us no matter what I did, and that’s why I ran to my house. I was thankful that I was close enough (to home),” she told Global News.
Barkley said she was up early, taking Lilly for the morning ritual at 4:30 a.m. on March 14.
“I let her do her business and kind of turned around I saw these dogs. I looked and those are coyotes, but they were large coyotes.”
One of the coyotes immediately turned and began following them. Barkley made a beeline to her front door a few metres away.
“I started yelling at it and it started to pick up pace,” she said. “And I started yelling and waving my arms a little bit more and I ran up my stairs, and the coyote ran up the stairs behind me and I literally slammed the door in its face.”
Once she regained her breath, she went to work and dialled 311 to report the aggressive encounter. But she wasn’t happy with the response.
“Pretty much nothing,” she said with a laugh. “They said unless the coyote was aggressive, or going through garbage or an attack, they couldn’t really do much about it.”
“I kind of felt discouraged because I thought this was pretty aggressive. I was kind of run to my door by this animal and I don’t think anything is going to be done.”
In response to an interview request, the City of Calgary told Global News it is “investigating this incident and, as a result, cannot share further details at this time.”
“If you are concerned about an overly bold or aggressive coyote, contact 311,” the city said in a statement.
“City staff will investigate and determine the appropriate response. Calls to 311 about coyote sightings are also appreciated. The city uses this data to look for trends in activity. ”
Barkley said she is waiting for her reply but doesn’t want anyone or their pets to get hurt.
“I live in a neighbourhood with little kids, elderly people with small dogs, and they were not afraid of me whatsoever, they just wanted my dog.”