Massachusetts

‘Nerve-Wracking': Coyote Caught on Camera Playing With Child's Toy

Cellphone video appears to show a family dog playing with a balloon in a Massachusetts backyard, but Everett Animal Control said the animal is a coyote.

"It's nerve-wracking that close," said Shannon Stoddard, who recorded the video. "I mean, what if there was a little kid out here and they thought it was a dog, and they went to go pat it and it attacked them?"

The video was recorded at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Stoddard said she has seen the coyote at all hours of the day for the last month.

"There are a lot of little dogs up here and cats," said Stoddard. "There's been cats missing."

Michelle Flores said she knows where one of them went.

"I went to throw the trash out and I saw two coyotes run right by and one had a cat in the mouth," said Flores.

Flores has a puppy named Minnie.

Animal Control is asking neighbors to keep all dogs on leashes and all cats inside.

"My dog is always on a leash, but still, if a coyote comes out and wanted to attack the dog, then we're all going to be going at it," said Flores.

According to neighbors, the problem is a hole in the fence that runs along their property line.

It's supposed to separate their land from a cemetery, where the coyotes live.

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