Coyote attack leaves two dogs injured in Blairsville

BLAIRSVILLE, Pa. — Two dogs are recovering after they were attacked by a coyote in Blairsville.

Preston Boarts keeps his three pet beagles in elevated, caged kennels in his backyard. The wild animal attacked those dogs in their cages.

“It’s hard to believe he even get his nose up there and bit at them,” Boarts said.

When he heard lots of commotion and barking early Tuesday morning, he didn’t think much of it — until he went outside a few hours later.

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“And that’s when I noticed their pads all torn up, one dog's got one toe clean off and the right side of the pad is shot done and I don’t know if they’re going to fix it or not,” Boarts said.

Two of his three beagles were bleeding — their paws and legs banged up and chewed on — and both had to be rushed to the animal hospital and needed surgery.

The Boarts family thought their three beagles would be safe because their kennels are three feet off the ground, but they think the coyote came from underneath.

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“We’re pretty much figuring it was a coyote because I never thought about anything even trying. That’s why I got them up off the ground, so I don’t have to worry about them,” Boarts said.

He said he knows coyotes are around, but never thought his dogs would become a target. A representative of the game commission told Channel 11 coyote attacks on dogs are uncommon, but can happen.

“We put it on Facebook to tell everybody keep an eye on their dogs and keep them in, because there are people that leave their dogs out at night,” Boarts said.

Cox Media Group