Over the last few weeks, there has been a string of coyote attacks across Bellevue, Washington. There were five attacks across the city, three of them included people being bitten. One of those attacks happened to a girl at her home, right outside her front door. It was just one of several coyote attacks that occurred the same day.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife was tracking the attacks, and did eventually find the coyotes that were the culprits.
Chang Tong’s 4-year-old daughter was attacked inches away from the family’s front door. “It was just walking on the mat,” he told KIRO. He explained that they thought the animal was a dog because of its gray and white coloring.
“She [was] about to pet on the dog at that time, and with just one second, the coyote just bit her hand and tried to drag her,” he continued. “She was dragged to the ground.”
Tong knew that he had to act quickly to save his daughter. So he yelled at the coyote in an attempt to scare the animal. Luckily for them both, it worked. He took his daughter to the emergency room, where she was treated for minor injuries to her palm. She also got a rabies shot.
After the scary incident, Tong said he is keeping his gate locked and talking to his children about coyotes. “We may have some weapons, like a stake or a knife, somewhere handy,” he said. “If a neighbor saw it, it’s better for them to recognize it’s a coyote. It’s not a dog.”
The girl’s bite was the last of the Bellevue coyote attacks that day. Earlier that same day, a coyote attempted to bite children that were waiting for the school bus, KIRO reported.
KOMO reported that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife found one of the coyotes and “swiftly” killed it due to the threat it posed. King 5 reported that the second coyote was also found and euthanized.
