Police officers take the coyote out of the kitchen with dog toys
Police officers in Spartanburg, South Carolina, were called on March 19 to help lure a coyote out of a woman’s kitchen. Credit – Spartanburg Police Department via Storyful
SPARTANBURG, SC – After a coyote entered a home in South Carolina, police in response had to think creatively to lure the animal out of the resident’s kitchen.
The police were called on March 19 to a house in Spartanburg, located about 120 kilometers west of Charlotte, after a woman found the surprise guest at her home.
“One of my dogs came by and started barking and looking around, like there was a mouse or something,” Sandie Ferguson told the local WSPA-TV news station.
Ferguson said the coyote went through a dog flap on his door and hid in the corner of the kitchen.
“When I first saw him, I thought, ‘He’s a coyote. So I thought, ‘No, it has to be a dog. ‘But he didn’t move, he didn’t bark, he didn’t growl or groan, “she told the station.
Police officers in Spartanburg, South Carolina, used dog toys to help lure a coyote out of a woman’s kitchen on March 19, 2021. (Credit: Spartanburg Police Department via Storyful)
That’s when Ferguson called 911. She said the animal was in the corner until the police arrived.
Video released by the Spartanburg Police Department shows policemen using dog toys to try to persuade the coyote to get out from behind a table.
The animal, which was frozen “like a statue” for more than an hour, ended up leaving the same way it entered.
“See how the police respond to COYOTE’s service call. These are just some of the challenges that men and women in the Spartanburg Police Department face on a daily basis, ”wrote the department on Facebook. “Great job, Lieutenant Metz and Officer Cote.”
Coyotes, who average an average of 35 pounds but can exceed 50 pounds, rarely attack humans, according to the Humane Society. But they are known to attack animals like chickens and lambs, as well as dogs and cats.
Coyotes first appeared in the interior of South Carolina in 1978, but are now present in all 46 counties in the state, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
The department said its appearance is due to people who import them illegally for dog racing. The eastern migration of coyotes also resulted in the natural expansion of the species throughout the state.
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This story was reported from Cincinnati.