Coyote ugly

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- Heidi may not guard Taco Bell chalupas, but when it

comes to defending her own life, the 6-year-old Chihuahua is every bit as

heroic as her famous TV counterpart.

After escaping from her owner’s Harbor Ridge home last week, Heidi

came face to face with a coyote. Since coyotes give birth to their

offspring in February or March, the young animals are ready to go hunting

for food by this time of year.

“[Heidi’s younger sister] Gidget came back screaming at the top of her

lungs,” said Daidra Tillman, a real estate broker, as she recounted the

night of Heidi’s disappearance. “I knew something was wrong.”

Still immature in their hunting skills, young coyotes tend to attack

domestic animals, such as cats and small dogs like Heidi, rather than

wildlife, animal control officials said.

While an encounter with a coyote would likely result in her death, the

dog was recovering at home Monday from about a dozen puncture wounds.

But for two days, Tillman had pretty much given up on seeing her dog

again.

“I thought she was dead meat and had given up,” Tillman said, turning

to Gidget, who’d cuddled up on her lap. “Yeah, we thought we lost her,

didn’t we?”

Then, as Tillman was working on her computer in the study, an excited

Gidget came running into the room and led Tillman to the front door.

“And there was Heidi,” Tillman said. “I don’t know how she got home.

She was in bad shape and could hardly walk. She was a mess -- sticky and

icky.”

Tillman raced her wounded dog to a veterinarian, who kept her under

observation for the night.

While still shellshocked, her body covered with circular bald spots

from the coyote attack, Heidi appeared at ease as she soaked up some sun

on Tillman’s terrace.

“She gets about anything she wants right now,” Tillman said, adding

that Gidget had shown a lot of concern for her sister’s well-being.

“A lot of people think that [Chihuahuas] are yappy, nervous things,”

she said. “But they are so cute the way they look after each other.”

Since Heidi’s homecoming, the trio has already started to take walks

through the neighborhood again.

Will the dogs have another chance to escape again?

“The gates are going to be very much closed,” Tillman said, laughing.

FYI

o7 COYOTE DOs AND DON’Ts:f7

DO:

* Feed pets indoors and promptly and collect their food once done.

* Store pet food in animal-proof containers.

* Keep trash in sturdy containers and put it out the morning of

pickup.

* Clear bush and excess debris from your yard.

* Keep yards well-lit.

* Keep small children and pets under close supervision.

* Keep pets on a leash when outdoors.

DON’T:

* Leave food or water out for wildlife.

* Try to capture or handle wildlife.

* Put trash out in plastic bags or the night before pickup.

* Allow pets to run loose.

* Fail to report unusual occurrences or encounters with wildlife to

animal control officials.

* Source: Irvine Police Department