A 琉璃神社 woman is warning others of the dangers of wildlife in the Thomson Flats trails area after a coyote attacked her dog.

On May 17, Dawn Sleiman was walking down an embankment in the area with her dog Bailey, who ran ahead into a nearby creek. Due to loose gravel, Sleiman said she kept her head down as she descended the hill.

鈥淚 heard her yelp. When I looked up, I could see her wrestling with something, then I realized it was a coyote,鈥� said Sleiman. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I started to scream, wave my hands and charge towards them. At the same time, she was able to break away from it and she ran back to me.鈥�

Sleiman backed up the embankment with Bailey by her side, not taking her eyes off the motionless coyote that stood 15 to 20 feet from her.

鈥淚t stayed there. But I have to be honest; I would鈥檝e been scared of me too,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was screaming at the top of my lungs. I was waving my arms. I was surprised all of 琉璃神社 didn鈥檛 hear me.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 until she got home when she and her husband noticed that Bailey, a Brittany Spaniel who turns five in June, was licking the blood-covered wound sustained on her left leg.

鈥淲e noticed it was quite deep, so we called the vet hospital right away,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey suggested bringing her in; luckily, she had her rabies shot in September.鈥�

Bailey has since been prescribed pain medicine to ease the discomfort in her leg. A drain was placed in the laceration area, but Sleiman said the wound isn鈥檛 exuding any fluids.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 do anything with her for two weeks. It could be interesting,鈥� she said.

She added that the big takeaway from the encounter is how crucial proper dog training is.

鈥淭raining is very key, especially if you鈥檙e going into wildlife off-leash. If she didn鈥檛 have that, who would鈥檝e known how she would have reacted,鈥� she said.

鈥淒on鈥檛 let your dogs go after wildlife because here you just don鈥檛 know what would happen with them.鈥�

READ MORE: 琉璃神社 residents asked to stay vigilant following cougar sightings

READ MORE: Warm spring brings bears out earlier in Okanagan

aaron.hemens@kelownacapnews.com
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