Quincy Police Warn Pet Owners After Coyote Attacks

QUINCY (CBS) --- A Quincy family is mourning the loss of their beloved pet after it was attacked by a coyote.

The predator scaled the five foot fence snatching the 13-year-old chihuahua in its teeth, as his elderly owner looked on.

"As I went and looked I said, 'oh my God'," said 85 year old Marjory Cristiani. "He put the dog in his mouth and I'm going, 'let it go, let it go."'

The dog named Cheech was put outside for just a few minutes before bedtime, but when Marjory looked out the window she came face-to-face with the coyote.

"He just looked at me defiant, they are very defiant animals."

Her son Anthony says Cheech is a member of the family. He gave the dog to his mother as a gift when her husband passed away thirteen years ago.

"It was horrifying to know my mother saw the dog in the coyote's mouth like a rag doll. It's disheartening to say the least," he said.

A friend of Anthony's found the remains, and Anthony says the coyote even returned after the attack.

"Right on that corner he was standing looking at me, the size of a small German shepherd."

It's the second coyote attack on a small animal in Quincy in the last few weeks, and has police warning residents to be careful with pets especially at night.

"With coyotes there's a lot of them now encroaching on populated spaces," said Quincy police Capt. John Dougan.

It's left a sudden emptiness for Marjory Cristiani who is also urging her neighbors to keep a watchful eye on their pets and children.

"I went upstairs in the bedroom and he wasn't there. Usually he's in his little bed," she said.

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