Kinnelon, NJ: Coyote snatches Smoke Rise pet pug; coyote sightings on the rise

[Donna]

KINNELON — Police are warning residents to be wary of coyotes after a Smoke Rise resident saw her 20-pound pug dog snatched away by one of the predators, never to be seen again.

Lt. John Schwartz said a woman living in the gated Smoke Rise community let her dog outside at 8:20 p.m. on Oct. 6 and shortly thereafter heard barking.

"She went back out there and saw the pug in the coyote's mouth," Schwartz said Tuesday. "She tried to scare the coyote away, but it took the pug with him."
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While the police notified the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, the officers were unable to locate either the coyote or the dog.

Schwartz said coyote sightings are common in Kinnelon. He said an animal control officer on Sept. 19 picked up a coyote carcass off Kinnelon Road. Prior to that, one of the borough's officers on July 17 shooed away a pack of coyotes from the east gate of Smoke Rise, which is near Kinnelon Road.

A resident on July 3 reported seeing a coyote running down the road on the south side of the borough, Schwartz said.

"They're very fast-moving," Schwartz said, adding the borough does receive reports of missing cats and other small pets.

"They've been pretty prevalent around here," Schwartz said.

He said coyotes usually will back away when confronted by a human. However, if someone encounters a pack of the beasts, it's best to leave the area.

"Use common sense, especially at nighttime," he said. "Don't let your animals out alone, especially if they're smaller animals. If you hear howling, don't let them out."

Sparta police in Sussex County experienced a similar incident in August when a township resident reported he was roaming the heavily wooded Sparta Glen with his 20-pound miniature pinscher, which was attacked and killed by a coyote. The resident was able to retrieve his pet's remains but the coyote scampered off, eluding capture.

A state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman said the state doesn't respond to coyote attacks on pets.

"(We) get involved if a coyote's behaving aggressively toward humans, or has actually attacked a human," spokesman Larry Hajna said Tuesday.

I had no idea we had Coyotes here!

[MAK]

   How close is this to you? 

[valhalla]

   This is the evil side of me...

Back in 1973 or 74 the first home in NJ to sell for 1M was in Smoke Rise (Morris County, NJ on the other side of the river from West Milford and Butler).  HUGE Football rivalry between Kinnelon and WMTHS!  People lived in Smoke Rise with EMPTY Rooms and didn't eat well to live in that exclusive gated community (we all went in the back entrance). 

MAK - coyotes are all over the place including DC.  There have been a few squashed ones on the Suitland Pkwy and RT 4 the last few weeks. 

Smoke Rise is on the other side of Morris County from Donna.

[MAK]

  Thanks Janet! I don't know of any coyotes here in the city but it wouldn't surprise me.   

[Bird Crazy]

we have them here. They run along the railroad land. A corridor of wilderness to anywhere. Saw a pack in Canton (that is the largest city in my county) one morning. So check the wilder areas of your neighbor hoods would be my guess.

What is worse is a lot of blame goes to coyotes when actually the problem is wild dogs. People dumping off unwanted pets who join up and form packs. Problem is they get mean and they are not afraid of people like a coyote is.

[Donna]

we have them here. They run along the railroad land. A corridor of wilderness to anywhere. Saw a pack in Canton (that is the largest city in my county) one morning. So check the wilder areas of your neighbor hoods would be my guess.

What is worse is a lot of blame goes to coyotes when actually the problem is wild dogs. People dumping off unwanted pets who join up and form packs. Problem is they get mean and they are not afraid of people like a coyote is.

Could probably blame a few humans too for cutting down their habitat! Poor guys have no where to go....like deer and bears. Who could dump off ANY dog is beyond me. 

[Bird Crazy]

we have them here. They run along the railroad land. A corridor of wilderness to anywhere. Saw a pack in Canton (that is the largest city in my county) one morning. So check the wilder areas of your neighbor hoods would be my guess.

What is worse is a lot of blame goes to coyotes when actually the problem is wild dogs. People dumping off unwanted pets who join up and form packs. Problem is they get mean and they are not afraid of people like a coyote is.

Could probably blame a few humans too for cutting down their habitat! Poor guys have no where to go....like deer and bears. Who could dump off ANY dog is beyond me. 

that is how I got five out of the last six dogs I had. They were dumped off. Some of the best dogs I have ever had. (even the whiner I have now, whine whine whine he is needy of so much attention wouldn't mind so much if he came with some cheese)  my cat too was a rescue