California: Residents, police team up to remove impaled coyote

CALIFORNIA -- The blood-curdling scream of an injured coyote led residents to a horrifying discovery at 2:30 a.m. Sunday—a coyote had impaled itself on a wrought-iron fence on Daisy Drive in Chino Hills.

The coyote had been running in a pack in pursuit of a dog on nearby Bluebell Drive when they were chased away by a resident returning home from work.

Kevin Stenson of Daisy Drive said he joined his neighbors after being awaken by what he called a “terrible death scream.”

They found the coyote across the street from Mr. Stenson’s house impaled on his neighbor’s fence.

“It was the most incredible thing I had ever seen,” Mr. Stenson said. “His back legs were sticking out of the fence and he was bleeding—it looked crazy.”

The residents called the Chino Hills Police Department and were advised to contact the Inland Valley Humane Society. When they got a recorded message they contacted the police again.

Deputies Sokly Chau and Juan Frias arrived on the scene and attempted to call the humane society, but also got the recording.

At that point, the residents and deputies carefully removed the coyote and placed it into a dog container. One of the deputies placed the container in his patrol vehicle and drove the animal to a remote place where it was released into the wild.

James Edward, operations manager for the Inland Valley Humane Society, said the recorded message contains a phone number for emergencies that connect to an answering service.

Mr. Edward said he checked the logs, contacted the answering service, and found no record of any calls that morning.

Mr. Stenson said the deputies did what they could to contact the humane society. “They were awesome. They went above and beyond the call of duty,” he said.

He said the humane society should automatically forward emergency calls. “This is 2017. It shouldn’t be that difficult,” he said. “Can’t you just “push 1” or “push 2?” he asked.

Mr. Edward said the phone system was set up to include the answering service number but it doesn’t mean it’s the right setup. He said the humane society has already contacted its phone provider to see if there is a viable solution.

Capt. Darren Goodman commended the deputies for taking action after reaching a recording at 2:30 a.m. while an animal was impaled.

He said the deputy made a judgment call to release the animal based on the facts in front of him. “The animal was showing enough signs of resiliency to release it into its own natural environment,” he said.

For after-hours emergencies, residents should call the humane society answering service at 594-9858. Mr. Edward said emergencies are defined as an injured animal, an aggressive animal, or a police department assist.

(Champion Newspapers - September 2, 2017)