Coyote attacks 13-year-old girl, dog in Maplewood, N.J., police say
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. -- A teenager and her dog, as well as another person, were attacked by a coyote in a popular New Jersey reservation Friday, just ahead of the holiday weekend.
It's certainly not something we hear about every day, and not very often do we see the South Mountain Reservation and dog park closed on a summer day like they were Friday afternoon.
The Essex County sheriff's office, which has deployed crews to comb the heavily wooded area, says a 13-year-old girl and her Shih Tzu were attacked by a coyote. She was hurt while trying to free her dog from the animal.
Separately, the state's Department of Environmental Protection says another person was attacked, suffering bite wounds to the buttocks.
It happened at the reservation earlier Friday afternoon.
We're hearing the child is expected to be OK. She suffered minor leg injuries and was taken to Saint Barnabas Hospital in Livingston.
At this time, we don't have an update on the condition of the Shih Tzu but heard that the dog was taken to an animal hospital in West Caldwell.
The state's DEP says coyotes are common throughout New Jersey and keep the rodent and small animal populations in control.
Their recommendations to keep safe:
- Never feed the coyotes,
- Do not keep pet food outside, as that attracts coyotes and their prey,
- Bring pets in at night,
- And if you encounter a coyote, make loud noises, throw rocks and spray water to shoo them away.
The DEP says it's working to capture the coyote and plans to euthanize it.
Essex County says it'll keep the dog park closed until Saturday.