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15-year old JJ, a small terrier was attacked and killed by a coyote while owners Chris and Adriana Del Dotto were walking him on a leash in front of his own house on Colby Way in Nahant.
When the coyote had JJ in his mouth Chris charged at the coyote trying to rescue his dog and while the coyote dropped little JJ it did not run off. Instead the aggressive coyote circled and and tried to get ahold of wounded JJ multiple times. The Del Dottos managed to scoop up their beloved JJ and bring him into the safety of his house.
JJ was immediately rushed to a local veterinarian, but sadly died while first-aid was being administered. Chris’s wife Adriana said in a social media post, “Our beloved JJ was attacked Saturday night while being walked on a leash on Colby way. He died a few hours later at the animal hospital. The coyote was extremely aggressive and kept coming towards me after I was able to pick up my dog.”
Adriana Del Dotto photo.
This is nothing new for the town of Nahant who have been almost under seige by brazen coyotes who have not only snatched up pets, but even being aggressive with humans who are alone. Nahant’s select board began dealing with the problem last December by enlisting sharpshooters to track and kill aggressive coyotes.
Town residents are not just concerned about pets being killed, but there is a serious risk of one approaching a child and injuring the child while the parents are fighting off the coyote. Unfortunately, the increase in these dangerous encounters is not limited to Nahant but more than a dozen towns in the Commonwealth.
Experts say that to scare away a coyote one should make as many loud noises as possible, throw objects at them, make mock chargesm or even chase them away since coyotes easily scared off in most cases.
This incident happened about 50 yards away from a known “hot spot” – an area officials have been aware of for nearly a year since the last dog was fatally wounded 50 yards on the other side of Breezy Hill Terrace, yet they have not brought in experts to 1) identify the attractant(s) and 2) reshape the coyotes’ behavior, which could have prevented this latest incident.
No amount of firepower will resolve the coyote issues in Nahant!
Lethal control to reduce numbers of coyotes or resolves conflicts has never worked and it never will. City officials need to wake up to this realty and stop wasting time with brutish and irrational measures.