HULL, Mass. — A Hull family is grieving the loss of their affectionate, two-year-old French bulldog after the beloved pet was killed by a coyote in their fenced-in yard.
Stephen Skelly had let Penelope outside one last time before bed while monitoring her and playfully calling to her from the back door.
But within just a few minutes, he noticed an animal in the 11 p.m., darkness leap from his yard, over his fence and into the neighbor’s backyard, evidently scared away by his voice.
While he wasn’t sure it was a coyote at the time, Skelly quickly noticed two other coyotes waiting nearby on D Street under the streetlight.
“I go into complete panic-stricken, grief mode, racing down the stairs, ice and everything, screaming her name,” Skelly said, recalling how he found his dog’s lifeless body by the fence. “I was lying on the ground. I was losing it, cradling her, and it awful.”
Hull residents have been seeing more coyotes in their neighborhoods in recent years.
On the day of Penelope’s death, Hull Police Animal Control warned residents of heightened coyote activity approaching the animals’ peak mating season of February and March. Animal Control urges pet owners to take extra precautions to protect their animals.
“I have not slept here one single night since it happened… Every room is filled with memories and love and laughter,” Skelly said of his playful pup who would fall asleep and snore, sitting upright on the couch like a person. “Penelope was a daily dose of joy, happiness, love, laughter. You couldn’t have a bad day with Penelope in your life.”
Coyotes are known to scale fences higher than Skelly’s 3.5-foot enclosure – up to six feet high.
Skelly hopes to alert neighbors to avoid another tragedy in his town.
“I’d hate to see another family get their hearts ripped out by something like this,” Skelly said.
Hull Animal Control shared the following coyote safety tips from MassWildlife:
- Secure your garbage in barrels with tight-fitting lids
- Do not feed or pet them
- Keep your pets secure, particularly small pets that are a potential food source
- Keep bird feeder areas clean as the seeds attract small animals on which they prey
- Feed your pets indoors
- Close off crawl spaces under porches and sheds
- Don’t let them intimidate you. Don’t hesitate to scare or threaten them off with loud noises, bright lights.
- Protect livestock and remove fallen produce
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