Second coyote attack in two weeks reported in B.C. community

A second coyote attack on a dog owner and their pet has been reported in Langley.

According to a social media post, it happened early Friday morning, July 15 in the Aldergrove community, a few blocks away from Robertson Crescent and 244th Street, the scene of a similar June 29 incident where a pack of three coyotes went after a small dog while it was being walked.

This time, a large dog, a German Shepherd, was reportedly the target of a coyote pack.

Both dog and owner escaped.

If confirmed, it would be the second such incident in that area of Aldergrove in two weeks.

Conservation officer Eric Tyukodi told the Langley Advance Times that an investigation of both incidents was in the preliminary phase. He would not speculate whether it was a similar situation to the problems created by aggressive coyotes in Vancouver’s Stanley Park.

Two coyotes had to be euthanized after about 13 people were chased around Brockton Oval and Hollow Tree near Prospect Point in Stanley Park between December 2020 and January 2021, some bitten badly enough to require medical attention.

Tyukodi said any incidents involving people and wildlife are automatically investigated by the B.C. Conservation Officer Service (COS).

READ ALSO: Aldergrove woman rescued from coyote attack locates Good Samaritans

Aldergrove resident Kristy Addison, who nearly lost her small seven-year-old Keeshond Cena to three coyotes in the July 29 incident, was dismayed to hear of a second such incident in the same area.

“It was about five blocks away,” Addison estimated.

“It sounded like the same three coyotes. I’m actually pretty surprised, I thought it [the attack on June 29] was going to be a fluke thing.”

Addison suffered bruising and her pants legs were chewed up when one of the coyotes tried to jump up to go after her dog, which she had lfted onto her shoulders.

She and her dog were rescued when a couple in an SUV intervened, making the coyotes run away and getting Addison and Cena safely home.

READ ALSO: Coyote sightings rise in Langley

A few hours after the Friday incident was reported, one area resident posted a warning on Facebook about a den of coyotes in the area of 252nd Street and 54th Avenue.

“[They] do not move until we yell and wave our arms,” the resident advised.

“[They] almost caught our dog the other day. We do not let her out unless she is wearing her coyote coat [a spiked jacket designed to discourage coyotes from attacking].”