Dogs and Coyotes
It’s 12:45 a.m. on a Sunday. I am reading in bed with the window open to hear the night sounds.
The coyotes are yipping and calling as usual, but they sound closer tonight, much as they did 35 years ago. This was, and still is, their home and hunting ground, even if humans are crowding them out.
The yipping becomes frenzied and suddenly mixed with the terrified yips of a dog. It’s all over in about 20 seconds.
Silence is profound; nothing disturbs the darkness. Other neighborhood dogs are quiet, safe behind their fences.
I can visualize that dog approaching the pack--tail up, slightly wagging. Because his humans didn’t keep him confined, someone’s pet died tonight. Don’t blame the coyotes.
PATRICIA MOSLEY, Simi Valley
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