911 call captures the moments after Simi Valley man stabs coyote that got into his home
By Laurie Perez
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SIMI VALLEY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A 911 call captured the reaction of a Simi Valley man after he stabbed a coyote to death for attacking his small dog inside his home.
“I’m bleeding pretty badly and my dog is barely alive,” the man told the dispatcher during the 911 call.
It came just before noon on Monday after the coyote snuck into a home at the base of a vast open hillside in Simi Valley. The homeowner breathlessly described the chaotic encounter with it and told the dispatcher that he thought it had gotten in through a dog door.
“Ran downstairs, coyote tearing her apart,” he said. “I scared it away and then cornered and stabbed it with a knife multiple times. But he bit me multiple times on my wrist. I stabbed it multiple times. I had a huge fight with it.”
Responding officers said they found the coyote dead after it had bitten the man and his pet chihuahua multiple times.
“So, the man tried to make a lot of noise and flailed his arms to distract or scare the coyote away or get it away from his dog, but this had the reverse effect because the coyote then turned on him,” Simi Valley Police Officer Casey Nicholson said.
Locals said they see coyotes nearly every day.
“If you are here at 5 a.m. in the morning you see the coyotes going by like nothing, like that’s their town, their place,” resident Iris Rocha said.
Wildlife experts said it’s not the first time a coyote has entered a home through a dog door. They reminded residents to take steps to avoid attracting animals, such as taking in the trash, turning off water sources, bringing pets inside and closing dog doors.
“Limiting any fruit that’s dropped from trees, water sources,” Ventura County Animal Services spokesperson Randy Friedman said. “It is hot and the less water that’s out there in the community, the more likely these animals are going to be able to come into our neighborhoods and through dog doors.”
Police said the man was treated and released from the hospital and the dog survived. Animal experts reminded owners to get their pets vaccinated for rabies.
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