A small dog suffered puncture wounds on its throat during what appears to be a run-in with a coyote off of Parade Hill Lane last week, officials said.
At about 11 p.m. on April 7, a resident of the street let out a Bichon Frise and Labradoodle and soon heard a commotion and saw both dogs running back toward the house, injured, according to a police report.
The larger dog had wounds to its legs, and both animals are now confined during a 45-day home observation period, said Officer Allyson Halm of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section.
“If you are letting dogs out at dawn or dusk, go out first and make noises yourself—this will alert skunks and raccoons and other wildlife, and then let your dogs out,” Halm said. “It is those hours, the dark hours, that these animals are out and about.”
The home where the confrontation occurred on Parade Hill Lane backs up to the New Canaan Nature Center’s property.
Halm said it almost certainly involved a coyote. The females are giving birth now and remaining in their dens while males are out and about hunting, she said.
Both dogs in this case were up-to-date on their shots, she said.
Halm urged residents to remember that when their pets come back to them with injuries of an unknown origin, they should wear gloves prior to cleaning and handling their dogs.
Last month, a small suffered puncture wounds on its throat following an apparent tangle with a coyote on Benedict Hill Road. Last summer, a coyote took a small dog on Michigan Road.