Coyote Kills Small Dog in St. Louis Park

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — A man’s beloved 15-year-old Maltese died after suffering a coyote attack.

Jerry Stamm of St. Louis Park let his dog, Cici, outside on St. Patrick’s Day evening, then noticed a coyote in his fenceless backyard.

“I’m still traumatized,” Stamm said via phone.

Stamm added that he couldn’t sleep for three days after the attack. Cici was rushed to the hospital, but died a couple days later.

Stamm’s neighbors are surprised to know that coyotes are living in the neighborhood.

“It’s a blessing and a curse to live in a place like Minnesota,” Peggy Callahan said, from the Wildlife Science Center.

Callahan says there are more coyotes than black bear in the state — well over 25,000. They extended east of the Mississippi after 1915, spreading to 48 states. Residents in St. Louis Park, Minnetonka, and Golden Valley have reported coyote sightings.

“The coyotes are not encroaching on the metro, we’re encroaching upon coyotes,” Callahan said. ”The coyotes have been here all along.”

Callahan says coyotes live all over the metro. They like it here, because of the food humans supply.

“Garbage, small animals, rats, mice, are things they feed on,” Callahan said. ”They also feed on pets. That’s a reality about coyotes.”

She added the coyote population in the metro is on a small rise.

“Coyotes pose a threat,” Callahan said. “But let’s keep this in perspective. This isn’t a new threat and it’s not overwhelming. It reminds us to keep animals enclosed and fenced in.”

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