Coyote Junction

We loved our nature walks along Onion Creek with our dog Zula. It's a great place to let her off lease and run and swim in the creek. The kids named all the trails and places along the walk, playground ridge, bluebonnet trail and coyote junction. We named it that because we found bones and scat with fur. We knew there were coyotes but didn't think we were ever at risk during the day time. Last week we went out at 4:00 with the dog. She was staying with us and was coming back as we called. When she was gone a little longer than usual we called her, then heard these horrible sounds, like a bunch of wild kids screaming and realized that Zula must have found the coyotes. She was gone only a minute but it seemed much longer. J kept calling her from the top of the ridge, then finally saw Zula running toward him with 3 coyotes chasing after her. They are much larger than dogs, they looked like big German Sheperds with long furry tails. Zula ran to J and once the coyotes saw the humans, circled back into the brush. When we got home we realized Zula was pretty beat up, we took her to the South Austin Emergency hospital where they cleaned her up and gave her a couple staples in the neck and sent us home with pain killers and antibiotics.

We feel SO LUCKY and blessed that she made it out alive.

It just makes you realize how beautiful but dangerous these wild animals are and how close they live to all of us.

See this link: living with coyotes.