Woman warns about coyote attacks at Calgary park

A Calgary woman is warning others about coyotes at West Confederation Park after she and her dog were attacked earlier this month.

July 24 was the first time Kimberley Holmes’ dog Teddi returned back to the park — the scene where they both were attacked by two coyotes on the bike path about two weeks ago.

“The dog was on her short leash as she is right now, she was right beside me, they came from behind me, I didn’t even see them,” she recalled. “I only reacted when I heard the dog scream, I turned and kicked at them and picked the dog up.”

Teddi’s injuries were so bad that it resulted in a vet bill of $6,500 and several stitches.

Holmes received a coyote bite on her chin when trying to free her dog.  

She says she doesn’t plan to walk Teddi in the park anytime soon.

In a statement, the city says they are aware of the incident and now have wildlife management contractors doing daily patrols of the area.

But Holmes is not alone in encountering coyotes; area resident Niraj Singh’s dog encountered one Tuesday evening.

“All of a sudden two of the coyotes charged on her, I don’t know because she’s small in size, they might have thought she’s a rabbit, but I had to run and save her because they almost caught her from the tail,” he said.

Singh now makes sure his dog is always on leash, but he’s not the only one adjusting their behaviour with coyote sightings in the area.

“Today I saw one just run right down our street just a couple blocks away here…” said parent and dog owner Jordan Walker. “When walking with our baby in the stroller and our small dog, we kind of spread out a slight bit to keep the dog in the middle because he’s probably the most vulnerable. ”

The city says during this time of the year coyotes can show an “increased level of aggression” towards dogs, with that behaviour extending towards those walking their furry friends. 

“My concern is because there are so many children in this area and so many spaces for them to be playing that there will be either a human encounter or a fatality with  an animal,” Holmes said.

The city is advising people not to run away from coyotes if they encounter them but instead, try appearing large, standing your ground and making noise.