BRUNSWICK, Ohio — A Brunswick man and his two dogs are recovering after a scary encounter with a coyote in their backyard.
"I heard, just, ear-piercing screams," John Kotlin, who lives in the Fairways neighborhood in Brunswick, said.
Kotlin told 3News that on July 5, after work, he was completing paperwork in the kitchen when he heard yelping outside in the backyard. He ran outside, and was horrified to see his two pit bull mixes in a scuffle with a coyote, the wild animal tearing into the chest of one the dogs.
"The female had very bad lacerations in her chest," he described. "When the coyote was latched onto it, as it was rolling, it was tearing her brisket off the front.
"She had many bite wounds in her leg, her head. Her ear actually got ripped off, like sliced in the middle. It latched onto her and would not let go."
When Kotlin couldn't break up the scuffle with his hands, he grabbed a steel pipe out of the barn to beat and chase the coyote away with. He and both dogs would have to get medical treatment, the male dog having puncture wounds in the ear, face, snout, and a couple in the legs. The female got it the worst, and has had to undergo multiple surgeries.
Kotlin, who was bitten on the hand by the coyote, was hospitalized for four days.
"My hand got to the size of like a softball, and it burned," he said. "When I went to Cleveland Clinic, they said that, 'We're going to get you admitted, because that's definitely an infection.'"
Kotlin told WKYC it took no thought at all for him to jump in and save his dogs.
"Anybody that has a dog, an animal, if they'd seen that, I mean, you don't even think about that," he explained. "I look back at it now and say, 'That's a little crazy,' but both my dogs are alive, I'm alive, and I would do it again.”
Since last week's attack, Kotlin wants the community to beware of coyotes, even alerting Brunswick Animal Control of the situation.
"Why the coyote went into a fenced-in area with two larger dogs, who knows? It's wildlife," Brunswick Animal Control Officer Mike Kellums said. He then shared advice of what to do if you ever find yourself face-to-face with one.
"Don't run. Just observe it, see what it's doing, what its intent is. If you have the opportunity, make a lot of noise. Scare it away. But always keep your eye on it; don't turn your back on it. If you try to run, that may be something that the coyote may take chase."
Kellums also says if you plan to go on a walk and want to be Coyote-prepared, carry a can of coins to make noise with or an airhorn. You can also play audio of a loud, unnatural sound on your cell phone to scare it off.
Kotlin has started a GoFundMe campaign for anyone who wants to help his family with the expensive medical expenses for the two injured dogs, Dexter and Roxy.
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