My house backs onto open space in Louisville, and because I'm an avid bird watcher, I spend a fair amount of time looking out from my back windows.

Over the past years, despite the fact that pets are supposed to be under control when on open space, I have seen many dogs chasing coyotes for hundreds of yards across the open space, but I have never yet seen a coyote chase a dog. Recently during a chase I saw a dog bite a coyote on his heel, after which the coyote limped away. This coyote will now go hungry and might die, since he depends on his speed and agility to catch prey to survive. In addition, the dogs chase away the prairie dogs, which are the reason the coyote is in the field to begin with -- i.e., to catch some dinner.

There have been many articles in the paper recently about coyote aggression. From what I see, it is dog aggression that causes problems in the first place. Please don't misunderstand -- I think dogs are curious, fun-loving, and altogether wonderful, and I hate to see them hurt. But dogs get fed their dinners and are taken to the vet when hurt, whereas coyotes have no one to depend on but themselves, and without being able to catch prey, they will die. Coyotes do not chase dogs for sport; their livelihood is altogether about survival, which means catching small animals such as mice and prairie dogs.

When dogs are not under control and run off, their owners often don't see what is taking place, so it is the dog owner's responsibility to make sure his or her dog does not run off.


We share this world with other species, and it is not our right to simply get rid of animals that might interfere with our enjoyment or that of our pets. Nor is it a good idea, since our happiness ultimately depends on the balance of nature being left alone.