134 - Coyotes

Last night a coyote almost killed my favorite dog. It's my parent's next door neighbor's dog. His name is Snoopy. I call him Snoop Dog, and he is adorable. My mom claims to dislike him, but she gives him treats anyway (cuz she just pretends to not like him). The problem is that when she and my dad take their nightly stroll around the neighborhood, he tries to follow them and then he challenges other dogs along the way (he doesn't know that he's little). The neighbor's answer to my mom's concern? "You can borrow the leash if you want." Clueless or stupid, I haven't decided which.

So Snoopy is outside a lot. Unsupervised. Over the last several months he's undergone a noticable change... his usual pep has been replaced by something else... he doesn't 'bound' much anymore, now he's tentative, and he shakes like he's cold even when it's not chilly outside. I don't know what's going on, but it makes me want to put him in my car and bring him home with me, because I feel like it's something bad. (I'm pissed) He even sits outside my parent's front door and whines. From what I can tell, they take better care of him than the neighbor does.

Back to the coyote...

Last night, mom and dad heard a panicked dog, went outside and saw Snoopy engaged with what they thought was another dog that lives on the street... but it turned out to be a coyote, and he was in the process of dragging Snoopy off (the neighbor wasn't even home, she just left him outside when she went to work). Dad went after them, shined the flashlight in the coyotes eyes and it surprised the coyote just enough for it to release Snoopy, at which point Snoopy made a break for it. As dad made his way back, another neighbor told him that the coyote was behind him; it was coming back. Dad shone the flashlight in its eyes again and it retreated. All in all, the coyote came back twice. I can't help but think how lucky dad is that the coyote didn't come after him.

I don't know if their neighbor took Snoop Dog to the vet or not, but she'd better, because Snoopy hasn't even had a fucking rabies shot. I think that pisses me off the most... if he contracted rabies, they'll have to put him down, and that's such a waste because he is such a sweet dog. Oh, and he's not a dog that's equipped to deal with the cold, but on the two coldest days we've had, they've left him out all day and into the night. I'm very close to bringing him home and letting them think the coyote finished the job. I just can't figure out if I'd be doing a good thing or stealing someone else's dog. And I have two cats. And I'm allergic to dogs... But I don't want him dead.