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LETTER: Reader reminds others to keep pets inside

'Please do not leave your pets outdoors unattended for an extended period of time,' reader urges
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BradfordToday received the following letter to the editor from reader Walter Prokopchuk, who warns fellow pet owners of the dangers of local coyotes: 

I feel I must alert you to the cruelty that Mother Nature may inflict upon your small dog, or cat, or whatever kind of family pet.      

At 11:21 on Christmas morning while shoveling our street's sidewalk, I witnessed an adult coyote saunter across my neighbour's lawn, cross the street, and run across another neighbour's lawn to his backyard, then disappear. This took place in about one half a minute, approximately 40 metres from where I stood. And I believe that the animal was headed for a small wooded area nearby that is known to harbour an abundance of rabbits and raccoons.    

Now coyotes (Canis Latrans) , are known to be territorial, which means that it and its mate occupy the same patch of earth for as long as they are able to survive. So possibly this is the same coyote that crossed my son's path while he walked our Shih Tzu some two weeks earlier.      

You may ask how I might know that they may carry off your pet while outdoors for a stroll. A few years back, our next door farmer neighbour on Canal Road would feed about a dozen feral house cats outside his home. Then suddenly - during one winter, over the course of about a couple of weeks - all of the felines mysteriously disappeared. It is believed that coyotes (that had been spotted in the area, by myself included), crossed the canal's ice from the adjacent bush to feast on their victims.      

So folks, if you undoubtedly value your pets as integral members of your family, please do not leave them outdoors unattended for an extended period of time. Nor preferably unleashed, even during their walks with you.

Walter Prokopchuk,
Bradford ON