CRAZY COYOTE! I had a little excitement on my walk with the dogs today.

Since I've been home from Thailand I've been trying to keep up the habit of walking for a couple of hours each day. Although I walk a variety of places today I decided to take one of the old four-wheel drive roadways that run along the side of Hogback Mountain. After the initial 30 minute uphill section it is flat and runs across the side of the mountain which makes for easy walking and wonderful views of Klamath Falls, the lakes and Mt. Shasta. At the hour end of the walk we were high on the ridge and looking down on Old Fort Road.

For some reason I looked behind me and was surprized to see a coyote watching me and the dogs from about 50 feet higher up on the mountainside. He was about the same size as Jaycup, all grey with white fur around his eyes and yellow fur outlining his ears. I wasn't particularly alarmed but I looked around for others as friends have told me they are seldom alone and can be dangerous for dogs if there is a pack of them. Another 50 ft higher and some 60 yards back I spotted a smaller coyote making its way towards us. Scanning the rocky mountainside I could not see any others so I started walking backwards along the roadway while watching the coyote closest to us.

The coyote moved along paralell to us as if on his own path, watching me and Jaycup who was bounding around following scents in the sage brush as usual. When the coyote spotted Shiloh his ears came forward and he seemed to focus on her. Since I was taking so long to come up the roadway Shiloh had streached out in the shade of a juniper tree to wait for me. The coyote stopped directly above the tree and began making it's way down the hill towards her. Now I became a little concerned.

Calling Shiloh to me I took her ball and tossed it downhill and well ahead of where she had been lying down. Moving forward quickly to put some distance between the coyote and us I could see the wild one smelling the air and inspecting the spot our little spotted dog had been. Then he took up his trail again and trotted towards the shoulder of of the mountain.

That alone would have been enough excitement but our coyote interlude was not over.

Reaching the end of the roadway I decided to make the short scamble up to the ridge just above us to see what the view was of the other side. Jaycup and Shiloh romped up the hill faster than I did and disappeared over the top. As I crested the rise I saw Jaycup chasing the coyote through the small grassy field. They were both running flat out and were going to be out of sight in just a minute so I yelled for Jaycup to come as loud as I could. I'd also heard coyotes would lead a dog into an ambush and was afraid that might be what was going on!

Jaycup dutifully broke off the chase and peeled off to the right to return to me. The coyote immediately gave chase and as they sped between some sage bushes and rocks I heard Jaycup yelp. A moment later he was in the clear again, tail between his legs and ears flattened against his head as he made a beeline for me. The coyote paused in the open and then dug up the ground with his back feet. Declaring himself the winner?

I told Jaycup it is not a good idea to turn your back on a coyote and it didn't seem like Jaycup was any worse for the encounter but we immediately started back for the car. Periodically checking behind me to make sure the coyote wasn't following us down the mountain side I congradulated Jaycup for not getting hurt.

That was premature. It took an hour to get back to where I'd parked and by then Jaycup was limping noticably. The coyote had broken the skin on the inside of Jaycup's right leg at the elbow. A small patch of bloody fur marked the spot but he wouldn't let me see it. In the ten minutes it took for me to drive from Foothill Road to the house on Homedale I could tell Jaycup was hurting. He couldn't sit or lay down and was trying to balance on his three good legs on the seat.

After rinsing him off on the back patio I could tell there was a quarter sized wound but couldn't tell if there was muscles torn so off we went to the Vets.

Jaycup in now resting comfortably - a pain killer injection and a muzzle were needed to get him quiet enough to cut the ragged skin flap off, clean the wound and confirm no muscle or bone damage was done. Stocked with two weeks of antibiotics and pain killers I returned from my 'afternoon walk' more than a hundred bucks lighter!

Several women friends and I are supposed to hike to Lone Pine on Hogsback Mountain tomorrow. I will not be taking the dogs.

No more Hogback Mountain walks for these two dogs! Shiloh seemed totally oblivious the entire time to the presense of the coyote but then I had a ball so that isn't surprizing. The coyote was interested in her though!