A family is in tears and a neighborhood in fear after a recent string of coyote attacks terrorized a San Diego County neighborhood.
At least three dogs were recently attacked by coyotes in San Marcos, off of Nordahl Road and Rock Springs, and the grieving families are asking for help to avoid the pain and loss of more neighborhood pets.
"My brother went over here to see what it was, and he came back crying, so we knew that our dog was dead," said Jazmine Baltazar, whose family found the remains of Spike, their pet chihuahua, in the park behind their home. "I liked him a lot. He was like my little baby."
The Baltazar kids said the coyote jumped their fence and snatched the dog from their patio. Two other dogs were apparently also killed by a coyote across the street.
One neighbor, Janice Betian, said she has been looking for help from local agencies but not getting much. "We are getting 'call the other guy' from animal control, who told us to call Agriculture, Weights and Measures, who told us to call the Humane Society ... the list goes on," said Betian in an e-mail. "We just want an answer: Who will be able to help us stop more neighborhood dogs from being killed?"
For now. a makeshift memorial for the three little pets has been set up in the Baltazar's back yard. Alex Baltazar also said he saw one of the coyotes on his street.
"It was really big and like brown and gray, and it was like staring at our car," Baltazar said.
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The Baltazar family is protecting its two other chihuahuas, Roxie and Caramelo. They are put to bed in their crate every night and the door is shut tight.
