Alie Ward

They couldn't catch this coyote with a limp, dead Buffy in its mouth.

Buffy was never seen again.

And through grief and a lot of, I think, if I may, self-blame, Buffy's owner created this Kevlar bite-proof spiked collar and vest, available at coyotevest.com if you're looking, and

And there have been many reports of attacks that were thwarted by these spiked little outfits.

And my daughter, Gremlin, she's a delicious 12-pound meal waiting to happen, may need one of these.

I was just shopping.

I was like, do I get her a pink one, yellow one?

I can't decide, but the tab's open.

If you're encountering a lot of coyotes in your neighborhood though, especially now because it's coyote mating season like January through March, there are some ways to scare them away.

I found this 2023 master's thesis by Gabrielle Lejeunesse and it was titled, Two Programs for Use of Aversive Conditioning to Manage Bold Urban Coyotes.

So they lured coyotes with dogs or dog scents.

The study also taught community members to stay on the lookout for coyotes and then haze them by running and screaming at them and throwing tennis balls their direction to cause them to retreat from humans.

Or they had the high-intensity method, which involved a non-contact shot of a chalk pellet toward a coyote with like a paintball gun.

And the verdict was...

The low and the high intensity hazing caused coyotes to leave the immediate area, but only the high intensity hazing, the paintball shotgun, demonstrated measurable changes in subsequent behavior by coyotes.

But the yelling, though, they say, may deter coyotes during conflict situations while increasing the sense of security in residential areas.

Either way, haze coyotes when you see one for the good of the nearby pets, but also the coyotes because it keeps them safer.

Even though they belong here as much, if not more than us.

They were here before us.

And if you have an outdoor cat, you're putting so much wildlife at risk because they love to eat lizards and birds and such.