COYOTE AT THE DOOR

A coyote broke into a family's garage through a doggie door, and the dog's owner showed up demanding they pay the vet bill.

The family had only recently moved to a small town in the mountains of Northern New Mexico, near the Colorado border, because of the husband's job. Their neighborhood was tucked among trees and wildlife, with HOA warnings about mountain lions, coyotes, bears, and bobcat sightings. Signs around the area also warned of fines for off-leash dogs. According to the poster, pets were expected to be kept inside or on a leash, and there were dog parks elsewhere in town.

Their house had a detached garage with an electric heater and a small doggie door in the garage door. The poster said they weren't even sure who had used it before them.

Before a snowstorm, the family left for three days to visit relatives in California. They asked a neighbor to keep an eye on the house while they were gone. They also had a Blink camera outside, because some animal had been repeatedly peeing and pooping on their porch. The camera had already caught two visits from what looked like a golden retriever mix, but they couldn't tell whose dog it was.

Then, while they were away, the footage showed a coyote breaking through the doggie door and getting into the garage.

The poster says the coyote later attacked the dog after it returned and was squatting on the porch. The camera caught the coyote entering and chasing the dog, but not the attack itself. When the family got back, they still didn't know whether the dog had died or been put down at the vet.

Not long after, the dog's owner came to the door furious. According to the poster, he accused them of "housing a coyote," demanded payment for the vet bill, and said, "he has contacted a lawyer and plans to sue us!" The poster says they were stunned. "I am beyond shocked right now," they wrote.

They argued back that "we are not housing any wild or tame animals in our home," and said the responsibility was on the dog's owner. "he should have had his dog on a leash especially at night," the poster wrote, pointing out that the neighborhood had clear warnings and that the dog was off leash in an area with active wildlife.

Later, the poster clarified that the man at the door was not the neighbor who had watched the house. It was "someone else we've never talked to and lives further up from us." They also said he had been standing in front of his door when the incident happened, and may not have been able to reach the dog in time because of the snow and ice.