Coyote in West Austin kills small dog

People who live in West Austin, be warned:  a coyote killed a small dog there Wednesday.

Henry, a three-year-old miniature poodle, was in a fenced-in backyard when the coyote jumped the fence and grabbed him.

The yard on Winstead Lane is in the West Enfield neighborhood. That neighborhood backs up to the Johnson Creek greenbelt and is right off Mopac.

“Three years old, a miniature poodle, just sweet as could be,” said Mike London about his beloved pet. 

London, his wife, Kate, and their miniature poodle, Henry, spend their days next to the Johnson Creek greenbelt.

“We sort of thought maybe one day a coyote would come,” said London. 

Unfortunately, that day was Wednesday.

“He was out in the backyard. My wife, Kate, had to go in for a little bit and when she came back she called for Henry and no answer,” London said. 

Mike started looking for the pup inside and out, until he spotted something.

“The coyote was right there gnawing on it and then got up and started walking off very nonchalantly,” said London. 

Mike and Kate tried to revive henry, but no luck.

“It’s sort of frightening and disappointing that it would happen and devastating to lose our dog,” London said.

Henry was already gone.

“Where's this liveliness in our house going to come from now? We're not jumping and barking. We miss Henry already,” London said. 

London has lived in this neighborhood for about 40 years and he's never seen a coyote in his backyard before.

Although the couple was aware of coyotes in the area, they never expected to lose their dog in such a brutal way.

“It's so crazy to be petting the dog, all just being loving and licking in the morning, and then at noon the dog is dead. Just shocking really,” said London. 

Mike said they took precautions to keep wildlife out of their property, but in this case it wasn't enough.

“That's a problem because here we have this big backyard fence around it, we thought we were safe, but we weren't,” London said. 

He's warning his neighbors to be on the lookout for the wild animal and keep an eye on their children and pets.

“That coyote is still hungry and will be coming for your dog, so the thing to do is keep the coyote scared away or keep the dog from being a meal,” said London. 

Mike doesn't want anyone else to suffer the loss of a loved one the way he did.

“Everybody loves their dog, their own dog is family and that's how Henry was with us,” London said. 

London said he reported the coyote attack to 3-1-1. He was told killing the coyote wouldn't solve the problem because a new coyote would take over the territory. Instead, he plans to build a taller fence.

The City of Austin has tips to prevent homeowners from attracting coyotes on their website.