WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — People who live in a West Mifflin neighborhood are concerned about the safety of their pets after a coyote was spotted in a man's yard.
Channel 11 showed the pictures to an animal control officer, who confirmed it was a coyote. Neighbors are now on alert.
“They are getting closer to our houses now,” Margaret Keller said. “It didn't scare me at first because it was down in the woods.”
Keller saw a coyote in her backyard a couple of years ago.
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She says it's an odd coincidence that a neighbor’s dog was recently attacked
“There was a sighting of a coyote and the very next day a dog was mauled,” Keller said.
Because of the recent coyote sighting, Keller is now spreading the word to other neighbors who have pets.
Mary Gibson, who lives across the street, told Channel 11 she's not letting her beloved toy poodle Molly out of her sight with a coyote possibly lurking outside her door.
"I would never think of letting her outside by herself," she said. “When I take Molly out, she goes out on a lead and never goes out without me and I have a big stick at the back door, just in case.”
According the Pennsylvania Game Commission, coyotes typically come out of the woods at night. They are opportunists and eat almost anything, including small dogs and cats.
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