A family in the Kingston, New York area is mourning the loss of their beloved pet after a tragic animal attack.

Hudson Valley residents are used to seeing all kind of wildlife in their own backyards. However, most of the time animals usually dart away before any kind of human contact or interaction.

Judy Eckert was in her driveway, in the Sawkill neighborhood of the Town of Kingston, watering flowers on Wednesday August 10th, 2022, with her dog Remi 10 feet away watching her. According to Eckert, that's when a large coyote ran up behind Remi and picked him up and took off to the woods.

Coyote Attacks Small Dog in Kingston, New York. What Happened?

She shared the horrifying event in detail writing on Facebook:

A coyote took Remi while I was watering flowers. Remi was 10 feet away from me, lying on the driveway watching me and the large coyote came up behind him , picked him up and took him into the woods. I went after them into the woods screaming but I could not keep up with them. Called 911 Police and Dec came. My kids and neighbors came, we looked for hours. Remi is gone. I screamed for Ron to take him in his arms again . My heart is broken.

We reached out to Judy for permission to share her heartbreaking story and she agreed adding that she would "never want anyone else to feel this pain ." Hopefully this story can act as a reminder to keep an extra eye on your pets when they are outdoors.

Eckert's neighbor Courtney Malsalzki shared with us the following statement:

It should be a priority to get information like this out to the public. Sure, we know coyotes and predators are always a risk but not letting your dog out to the bathroom alone at dusk is a far cry from a coyote hunting in broad daylight with people around.

 

Keeping Your Pets Safe from Coyotes

The Department of Environmental Conservation says that while coyotes are around all year in New York State they are highly vocal and most numerous "from late summer through early fall." The DEC adds:

Across New York, the most commonly reported issues with coyotes were incidents involving pets. Coyotes seldom approach or act aggressively towards people directly; however, dogs and cats attract coyotes. Coyotes approaching pets pose an immediate risk to the safety of pets and can jeopardize human safety, too. Overall, problems between people and coyotes are rare, yet the potential for conflicts to occur remains.

For more details on Coyote human and pet conflicts and how to avoid them visit the DEC website. 

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