We have a coyote problem. At 1 a.m. on an average Sunday in March, our elderly Beagle “Happy” pottered into her fenced dog-run, inside of our fenced back-yard, to take care of business. There, she was ambushed by a waiting coyote that savagely held and shook her by the throat.

When I flicked on our back yard lights, I was amazed by the size of the coyote. We rushed Happy to the emergency vet, where she held on for three days, but she ultimately succumbed to her injuries. Thank goodness that she did not bleed out in my childrens’ arms, but this was still a traumatic attack on my family, in our home.

Happy is not the only coyote victim recently attacked in her Houghton home. In October, neighbors lost their puppy to a coyote that carried it off over their fence in broad daylight. Last week, yet another dog was attacked inside of a fenced back yard. The number of “lost cat” and “stolen dog” posters in our neighborhood is breaking my heart. Your pets are not missing, they were prey, just like Happy.

Houghton neighbors, please be careful to lock your pets indoors at night until this reign of terror ends. If you have also been the victim of an attack, please let me know the date, time and location, so that we can map the pattern of attacks by these problem predators that have invaded our neighborhood.

Chris Carlson, Kirkland