Let sleeping dogs lie: Terrifying moment coyote snatches pooch off porch before owner bravely fights vicious animal off
- The dog was sunning itself, lying on the porch, just moments before the attack
- It’s owner is occupied at a table just a few feet away from the small pet pooch
- The coyote suddenly appears and attempts to grab the dog and bite its neck
- The shocking moment was caught on video by the home’s surveillance camera
A California man was caught on camera kicking a coyote that was trying to snatch up his little dog.
The home’s surveillance video showed the horrifying moment when the coyote ran across a porch and attacked a small dog that had been resting on the deck in South Lake Tahoe, California.
The video starts with the dog lying – carefree – in a sunny spot on the deck while its occupied owner sits on a chair several feet away.
A small dog is pictured here, sunning itself, just moments before it was attacked by a coyote. Its owner is seen sitting on a chair, just feet away from the dog
The coyote runs onto the porch and rams into the dog, trying to grab it around the neck
The quick-thinking man runs over to help his dog, preparing to kick at the attacking coyote
The dog, alerted to something off screen, gets up and adopts a defensive posture just a split-second before the coyote runs into view and rams into the dog, attempting to grab and shake the dog by the neck.
As this happens, the dog’s owner leaps up from his chair and – barefoot – kicks the coyote, chasing it off the porch.
The dog then wanders back into frame, seemingly unharmed by what just happened.
The man then protectively picks up the dog and cradles it in his arms, as he keeps an eye out in case the coyote returns for another shot at the poor pooch.
After a few moments, the man can be seen lifting up the dog, seemingly checking for injuries.
The man can be seen here running back to his seemingly unharmed dog, before scooping it up
After the attack, the man protectively holds his dog, while keeping an eye out for the coyote
Coyotes are known to be very bold predators that have no qualms about attacking pets in the presence of their human owners, iheartdogs.com reports.
The predators – which weigh just 20 to 50 pounds – are known for stalking their prey, then running at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour while attacking. Coyotes will often go straight for the kill, biting their preys’ necks and compressing their windpipes.
The first 15 seconds of the attack are said to be key, as any longer than that and the damage done to the pet’s head, body and throat will be too severe to survive.
In this particular incident, about five seconds passed between the start of the attack on the dog and when the coyote was scared off by the man.