COYOTES ARE HERE TO STAY
alan skeoch
july 2019
“Marjorie, the coyote is here…right behind you.”
“How do you know?”
“Saw him dance down the street as if he was Prince Harry”
“When?”
“Right now, 8.15 a.m. on July 16…Glenburnie Road, Mississauga…got a picture
quick…here he is…”
“Woody was barking his head off just behind my ear as we looked out the truck window.”
“What was the coyote doing?”
“Eating what was left of a dead squirrel that a car squashed.”
“Did he hear Woody?”
“Sure…but did not give a damn.”
“Where did he go?”
“Ducked into the Lack place…(next door to us)…he was about 10 feet from
you as you came out our lane.”
“I think he knows me…loves me or hates me.”
“Where did you get that crazy, off the wall, idea?”
“Alan, do you know what happened earlier this morning…while you were asleep?”
“Nope.”
“Well there was quite a fuss on the street. A man came jogging down Glenburnie with two full
grown Labradors…and right behind them came the coyote…almost at their heels.”
“A coyote could not pull down a Labrador.”
Alan, you were not there. The man was scared…running. He stopped to throw
two rocks at the coyote but the stones did not phase the coyote one bit. He loped
along right behind them.”
“What did you do?”
“I got in the truck and tried to put it between the coyote and the man. The coyote
just circled the truck which drove Woody wild. Barking like there is no tomorrow.”
Woody probably remembers the coyote that tore a strip off his ass.”
“Don’t make light of it Alan. The lady next door said three coyotes surrounded her
when she took the baby for a walk.”
“The only coyote I have seen lately was the cute animal sleeping in the tangle of
weeds at the back of our lot.”
“He sleeps there all day long…drives Woody mad…Lucky that half our lot is fenced.”
“No matter what you say Marjorie, I like the coyotes…beautiful animals…great dancers…
intelligent …survivors.”
“”Alan, they are predators.”
“Predators…Shmeditors…they are fascinating. And they were here before we were here. They have
a right of residency.”
“Dr. Hawrluk (local dentist) opened his front door yesterday and a coyote was standing there.”
“Maybe the coyote had a toothache.”
“Don’t be silly…”
“Coyotes do not have dental plans…rely on charity…but they have good teeth
normally…gnawing on squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and, if they are lucky, wayward cats…the
gnawing keeps their teeth in good shape.”
“Alan, stop that drivel…this is serious business.”
“Sorry. Just trying to make the point that coyotes have become part of our
urban landscape.”
“They move so fast…so delicatlely. Look at the pictures I took…almost seem like mirages…like there
was no coyote present…just blurred images.”
(Marjorie, talking to Woody our dog, as she often does)_
“Alan would not say that Woody if that coyote tore a strip off his bum, would he?”
“Woody cannot speak our language Marjorie.”
“His tail is wagging…he agrees with me.”
“Woody can spot a coyote before we can…maybe the smell.”
“He does not love those creatures as you seem to do…proving
he has a higher level of intelligence than you, Alan.”
“Probably true…”
alan skeoch
July 2019
