Coyote kills chihuahua in NW Calgary; woman issues warning to pet owners

A Calgary woman is warning dog owners to keep a short leash on their pets after a coyote killed her mother’s beloved chihuahua.

Lola is an 11-year-old, five-pound tan-white chihuahua, and with her owner, Brenda Chalmers, they recently moved to the Bowness community.

Lola the chihuahua at a lake. (Courtesy Brenda Chalmers)

Her daughter, Nevada, tells CityNews on this particular day, after her mom got home from work, Brenda let Lola outside to the backyard while she was looking for a leash to walk the dog.

When she went outside, Lola was gone.

“She’s calling her and calling her, and she couldn’t find her. So she starts going in the back alley. And she’s calling [Lola] … and she walked up and down the alley … for about 10 minutes,” Nevada explained.

She says a man driving a truck appeared down the alley and spotted her. He rolled down his window and asked Brenda if she was “looking for a little white dog?”

Nevada explains that the man chased a coyote with a white animal in its mouth by a nearby church. The man told her “he knew it was a dog.”

“So he chased it,” she said.

He had chased the coyote with Lola in its jaws for a period of time, but the wild animal outran him.

“And then he told my mom that, and that’s how she knew … that it was a coyote that took the dog.”

While the story is “absolutely heartbreaking,” Nevada says it must be told to help other dog owners know about the coyotes in the area.

“[Lola] was her whole world when she was at home, and I would just hate for it to happen to somebody else because it’s absolutely crushing,” Nevada said.

She explains that her mom is OK but is still sad and in shock over the ordeal.

Lola, the chihuahua. (Courtesy Brenda Chalmers)

After the incident was reported to Calgary 311, Nevada says they got a call back.

The agent said the city hasn’t had a lot of calls in the past few months on coyote sightings but that the city has been “swarmed” with calls, emails, and notifications in the past three days in Bowness.

Nevada says no matter the significance, a sighting is worth reporting.

“Even if you see them — if they don’t interact with you but you see them and you’re walking, report it because that lets the government know that they’re in our area, and they’re coming into our communities, and they will send people out to haze them,” she explained.

“So that, hopefully … they stay just on the perimeter, and they’re not actually coming into the community.”

Coyotes in Calgary

The City of Calgary says coyotes are a “vital part” of the city’s wildlife.

A good population of coyotes is important for the city’s biodiversity as they help control other wildlife populations from becoming problematic, according to research from the city.

However, it adds resident safety is its “number one priority” and utilizes a Coyote Conflict Response Guide based on research and best practices.

Rangers with the city will resort to “hazing” techniques meant to teach coyotes to associate humans with loud noises and other “unpleasant experiences.” Hazing is not lethal, and no harm is meant to the animal.

However, when it comes to protecting your pets, the city recommends always leashing your dogs — even in an off-leash area — if coyotes are present, to use shorter leashes, and always to pick up your dog’s poop as it attracts coyotes.

It also says to keep pets secured in your yard or inside your home at night.

In addition, to further prevent coyotes on private property, the city says to close or block areas under porches, decks or steps and to clean up trash by the bin.

According to Calgary 311, there have been several coyote sightings in the past week, most of them spotted in the northwest.

When asked about the help from the man in the alley, Nevada says it was a friendly act.

“And it was nice that … we at least knew what happened. Because if nobody had … we just would have assumed that she ran away, and we would have been looking for her all night. And we would have been, you know, putting up signs and posters and stuff,” she explained.

Coyotes are a common part of the urban fabric in much of Canada. In Mission, B.C., six people were bitten by coyotes in a span of less than five hours, according to provincial conservation officials.

More information on the city’s response to coyotes can be found online.