A pack of coyotes chasing after a puppy broke several panes of glass in the door of a west suburban home Friday as they tried to chase the dog into the house.
"I've never seen anything quite like this," Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said of the attack on South Herbert Road, about a mile from the Des Plaines River.
Dog owner Roger Nelson said it was about 4 a.m. when he let his three dogs -- a beagle, a golden retriever and a German shepherd puppy -- out into the yard. He said his pups barely made it out of the door when the pack of coyotes came charging.
The coyotes -- Nelson said there were four of them -- came from the bushes and easily cleared a fence.
"That's about a three-and-a-half foot fence. I mean, they jumped it, no issues at all," he said.
Nelson said he hurried the dogs back inside. They made it, but the coyotes didn't let up.
"[They were] just standing up on their back as they were clawing at the door, and then the two older I got, they were snarling back at them and growling," he said.
The coyotes were finally scared away when Nelson fired a high-powered BB gun at them, striking two of them, police said. Nelson's dogs were unharmed.
The attack left a lot of damage to the door. Several panes of glass of an outer door were broken, as was the glass on the main entry door.
Police Sgt. Bill Gutschick said in a statement that in his 25 years on duty, this was the first time he’s heard of coyotes trying to get into a home while chasing a pet.
Riverside has had other recent reports of coyotes attacking pets, Weitzel said, and on Jan. 3, a 7-month-old Bichon-Poo puppy was killed in the 100 block of Addison Road.
Weitzel urged residents to be aware of wild animals in the area.
"Coyotes do not know the difference between pets and the wild creatures they hunt, so try to protect pets by accompanying them outdoors," he said.
And use a short leash, he said.
