Oct 9, 2007 10:19 pm US/Mountain
City's Hands Are Tied After Coyotes Kill 3 Dogs
by Raj Chohan
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) ―
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Resident Phyllis Rider thinks the coyotes came from a den that lives behind the 11th hole of the Aurora Hills golf course and she wants them gone.
CBS
Some pet owners in Aurora say their dogs are in danger after a string of coyote attacks. Residents say coyotes have killed three dogs since January.
The homes all border the Highline Canal in Aurora's Park East neighborhood. Unfortunately for the residents, there's not much the City of Aurora can do about the attacks.
"Three families were devastated," resident Phyllis Rider said. "Their pets are gone in a very violent way."
In late May, Rider said she nearly lost her poodle.
"The coyote jumped the fence, picked her up," Rider said. "I screamed, he dropped her and we rushed her to the vet."
Rider's dog went through two hours of surgery and weeks of recovery. She had to pay thousands of dollars in medical bills.
She thinks the coyotes came from a den that lives behind the 11th hole of the Aurora Hills golf course and she wants them gone. But the city learned it's easier said than done. Part of the problem, according to health officials, is that Colorado has a constitutional amendment in place regulating how wildlife can be trapped, and that bar is set pretty high.
"The constitutional amendment that was passed by the public in 1997 really did narrow down the chances of the use of various trapping devices," Bruce Williams with the Tri-County Health Department said. "It's down to two purposes. One is for public safety of humans and the other public health. Pet attacks are not something we would use as a trigger for an exemption."
So the city's hands are tied and that means residents like Rider have to live with the problem. It means their pets can't be left alone in the yard, certainly not after dusk.
(© MMVII CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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