“Chico” the chihuahua is lucky to be alive and it’s all because his owners had a defense plan in place.
It was about 11am, on a bright sunny day in Southern California. The mother of this family was looking out through the kitchen window when she saw a coyote wander into her backyard. Chico was playing in the yard and the coyote went after him. Only seconds later, poor Chico was hanging from the coyote’s jaws, and unable to fight back.
All of this action was caught on video, and the mother can be heard yelling, “They took Chico! Oh my God!” The father and their son heard her screaming. They quickly went into the backyard, and started running after the coyote. Unfortunately, the coyote was able to jump over the brick wall before they could get there. The coyote and Chico were now in the neighbor’s yard.
The mother then remembered that she had a hand-held air horn. The coyote was startled when it heard horn’s loud blast. The coyote then dropped Chico to the ground, and ran away.
Chico was taken to see a vet. He had some puncture wounds and a broken rib, but should heal up fine.
The owners of this dog deserve a lot of credit for being prepared. They had placed several air horns around the house, years ago, just for this purpose.
We pet owners are going to have to keep a close watch on all of our animals. The coyote population is growing and they all need to eat. Please don’t leave your pet’s food out after they have finished eating, and it’s important to keep your trash cans closed. It might also be a very good idea for you to have an air horn handy, just in case.