Salmon Arm area woman warns others after dog snatched by coyote

A woman in Tappen is warning other residents to keep an eye on their pets after her beloved dog was snatched up by two coyotes right before her eyes over the weekend.

Gayle Mcneal was in her yard with her Pomeranian, Ginger, on Sept. 11, when two lanky coyotes walked onto the property. 

“I think I am still in shock,” she said. “One of them just walked up to Ginger and grabbed her in its mouth and she was screaming. It happened so quickly. It was heartbreaking."

Mcneal lives on an acreage and said there are many neighbours and their pets living in the area on Bolton and Cemetery Road.

She wants them to be aware the coyotes are around and the two she saw were thin and bold in their behaviour, despite her having larger breed dogs on the property.  

“They were not mangy, but tall and skinny and came so close to us they were within feet of the house,” she said. “My concern is they are hungry and unafraid so will be back in the neighbourhood.”

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It is the second time in the past week a small dog went missing from Mcneal's property.

“Last week my sister’s little dog disappeared and now we think it was coyotes,” she said. “Her dog went into the bush and never came back.”

Ginger was a red fox Pomeranian weighing 11 pounds and fast on her feet. But Mcneal said the coyotes were stealthy and appeared without warning.

“I am thinking they are juveniles because they are not afraid of anything,” she said. “They had no fear of me or the Labrador who went after them, they just stood there and looked at me.”

Mcneal has only been living on the property for two years but said up until now, she hasn’t had a problem with coyotes.

“We have had big bobcats here, but no incidents,” she said. “I have five dogs. No one has had a problem. Sometimes we can hear coyotes howling in the distance but our landlord said they have never come up to the house.”

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Ginger left behind a litter of six-week-old puppies.

“I was in the process of weaning them and they are on milk supplements and some food,” Mcneal said. “Thankfully the puppies are doing really well.”

Mcneal said Ginger was the love of her life, sweet in nature and good with her puppies.

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