The coyote struck just after Judy Burtner released her 3½-pound Yorkshire terrier into the back yard. In a few quick bounds, it grabbed the small dog and bolted away.
"I can still hear the sound in my ears of him yipping, like he was saying, `Mom! Mom! Help me, help me!' " said Burtner, describing the attack last month. "I didn't see it coming. It just snuck up, snatched him and ran."
Burtner and 15 other Arlington Heights residents attended a meeting Wednesday in Village Hall to address increased sightings of urban coyotes and the attack on Burtner's dog, Bentley.
Chris Anchor, wildlife biologist for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, said the area has a large coyote population and tried to assure residents that peaceful cohabitation is possible.
Once, it was rare to see coyotes in urban areas, he said. However, coyote families now roam tree-lined suburbia as well as the alleys of downtown Chicago, he said.
With homes, schools and businesses developing on what were once open fields, farmland and woodlots, human interaction with coyotes will continue to be more prevalent, officials said.
Anchor tags coyotes to study their travel patterns and behavior. Using a satellite tracking device, he has followed the roaming pattern of one animal that lives near the IKEA store at the Northwest Tollway and Illinois Highway 53 in Schaumburg.
Coyotes have adapted well to a suburban lifestyle, he said. They can become a problem because some residents feed them, he said.
"Please, do not feed the coyotes," Anchor warned.
The people at the meeting organized by the village's Police Department sometimes seemed frustrated.
"I see them in my yard at least once a week," said Connie Luckey. "I have to stay in my own back yard so my dogs don't get eaten?"
Luckey, who lives on East Oakton Street, owns Copper, an 8-year-old golden retriever, and Riley, a 4-year-old Bernese mountain dog. "They are like my babies," she said.
Ronald O'Neal, a conservation police officer with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said state law protects coyotes.
It is illegal to trap or hunt coyotes without a license. When proved necessary by the state, a licensed trapper can be hired, he said.
"There are rules, and taking care of it yourself can cause problems," O'Neal said. "There are penalties."
The punishment for harming or killing a coyote could be nearly a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500, he said. However, it's legal to use pepper spray if an animal gets too close.
Residents need to change their habits and not create a welcoming environment, officials said. Food, including pet food, shouldn't be left outside a home. Garbage bags should be secured and the number of bird and squirrel feeders limited.
In Arlington Heights, coyote sightings should be reported to the animal warden at the Police Department, 847-368-5300.Tribune photo by George Thompson
Outside with her dog, Missy, Judy Burtner describes how a coyote carried off her other dog, Bentley (below), last month.`I can still hear the sound in my ears of him yipping, like he was saying, `Mom! Mom! Help me, help me!'
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