A dog was brutally attacked and killed in Mequon just days after a neighbor found a family of coyotes living in her backyard.
On Monday evening, Laeh McHenry's dog Shayna went outside like she typically does. When Laeh went to check on her, her worst fear became a reality.
"There she was lying next to the step that would have let her in," Leah said. "She tried to get up and I noticed her leg was broken and twisted. She was all bloody. It was devastating. I walked her toward the back door, in the backyard and she started screaming, like she was terrified to go back there."
Shayna's injuries were so bad, she had to be put to sleep.
"She didn't deserve to suffer," Leah said. "She was my constant companion for 14 years. In all that time, I never worried or thought something like this could happen. Now, I'm worried it could happen to others."
Laeh's never seen a coyote on her property. But just a few blocks away, Madelyn Iannacone is trying to figure out how to move a whole family of them.
"There are two adult coyotes and four pups," Madelyn says. "I see them every day."
Those coyotes are living in brush and drainage pipes on the outskirts of Madelyn's backyard. It makes her nervous for her own pets and children in the area.
"They can be quite aggressive when protecting their young," she said. "I was told it would cost me at least $600 to safely remove them."
"There's got to be a better way to protect our neighbors," Madelyn said. "It's not just my backyard they're living in. There have got to be pockets of them all over the place."
Southeast Wisconsin is starting to see more coyote activity throughout the area again, since pups are typically born in April.
It's a good idea to be with your dog whenever it needs to go outside. Coyotes are typically scared away by people.
