FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Sasha is a playful, 10-pound white Maltese dog who loves playing tug-of-war. On Friday night, the cute little dog nearly became a meal for a coyote in Farmington Hills.
Sasha's owner, Beverly Mihalko, said it happened when she let him out of the house to "do his business." She lives near Thirteen Mile and Middlebelt roads.
"I heard this spine-chilling kind of howl. I didn't know what it was. So I screamed Sasha! Are you okay? Come here!" said Mihalko.
She saw Sasha running free before lining up the coyote in the beam of her flashlight.
"He stopped and stared at me. He did not run or move. It frightened me and I went in the house. I said I'm not taking on a coyote," she said.
This kind of story has become common in Detroit suburbs.
"You should be a careful pet owner these days. If they're out, you should be out," said Joe Derek, a naturalist in Farmington Hills.
Derek recently photographed a coyote in his yard a few miles from the attack on Sasha. He says coyotes have spread throughout Metro Detroit. They prefer wooded areas with streams and will feed on garbage, rabbits and other wild animals.
They also have been known to attack dogs weighing up to 30 pounds.
"There's no magic switch that can be hit to make them go away," said Derek, who does not consider coyotes to be a threat to humans.
Sasha was wearing a blue bandage for his puncture wounds. However, a spirited round of tug-of-war with his owner's daughter shows he's doing fine.
- Derek recently photographed a coyote in his yard a few miles from the attack on Sasha.
- Sasha
- Mihalko and Sasha live near Middlebelt and 13 Mile roads.