When Christina Eyth spotted a sick and shivering canine in her yard she wasn’t sure he was a dog or a coyote. But what she was sure of was that the animal needed help. The western Pennsylvania woman had spotted paw prints outside of her home that went up to her front door and that lead to the sick animal.
“I wasn’t quite sure but its behavior, it was scared and it was cold and all I could think about was this animal needed help,” Eyth told WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh.
She managed to coax the sick animal into her basement and then contacted Tj’s Rescue Hideaway, a foster-based dog and cat rescue group that focusses on rehabilitating strays. They too were stumped by the mange-riddled animal that was too sick to respond to the normal interactions that might shed light as to whether he was a dog, coyote or some mixed breed of coyote and wolf (coywolves) or coyote and dog (coydog), mixes who have been sighted more frequently in the suburbs the past few years, according to the Philly Voice.
So Tj’s Rescue Hideaway reached out to WildLife Works Mount Pleasant and Morgan Barron came out to see the animal.
“Behavior-wise he’s very timid, very scared and not aggressive at all, which makes me lean toward dog,” Barron told news outlets. Both rescues have decided to err on the side of caution and have sent away a sample for genetic testing. The results should come in a few weeks.
With the animal’s breed unknown, the animal is staying in isolation and under the care of Wildlife Works for now as coyotes can carry rabies. The canine’s mange will also be treated.
While rescuers await the test results, Internet users haven’t been shy to share their opinions. Many people are leaning towards coyote based on the canine’s eyes and snout. Others point to the canine’s docile and shy attitude as to why they think he might be a stray dog.
Tj’s Rescue Hideaway has updated everyone on their thoughts now that it’s been a few days since his rescue. “He is looking and attacking like a coyote everyday,” they commented on a Facebook update on January 23, 2022. “He hasn’t done anything to indicate he is a dog.”
They added, “The odds of him being of all things greyhound are 1000 percent unlikely…[ed note: some people’s speculation]. Maybe a GSD or half husky…But he has actual patches of fur on him that match the coloring of a coyote.”
WildLife Works Mount Pleasant
But the jury remains out on the mysterious canine. One thing is for certain, he is in the hands of good people who will ensure he regains his full health. And Eyth told the Dodo that if the canine she rescued turns out to be a dog, he’ll have a forever home with her.
“If he turns out to be a coyote, I will be there for when he is released. And if he turns out to be a dog, my husband and I would love to adopt him when he recovers enough to be adopted!” she said. “I feel so grateful and blessed that I noticed his prints and followed them.”
Visit the websites of Wildlife Works Mount Pleasant and Tj’s Rescue Hideway to support their rescue efforts no matter what the animal!
The test results came in – 100% coyote. The coyote escaped his kennel at the wildlife rehabilitation centre before the results came back and he has not been located. The group says that they have learned a lot from the experience and they will be better prepared in the future should they cross paths with coyotes.
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