Coyotes kill dog in Winter Park

WINTER PARK, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - It’s something a pet owner would never expect in broad daylight in a residential neighborhood -- a pack of coyotes attacking a pet.  But that’s what happened near a home on Lander Rd in Winter Park.

The Sullivan Family says their Morkie named Walle would have turned seven in January. Police say the family had let the dog out into their fenced in backyard Monday morning, but when he didn't come back they became concerned, they thought he might have escaped the backyard through a burrow that had formed under their fence after recent flooding.

When they started to look for him, that's when they found a maintenance worker from a nearby retirement home who said he saw a pack of coyotes attacking the dog and tried to save him but it was too late the dog didn't survive the attack.

Wildlife expert Bob Cross says we’re seeing more and more coyotes in Central Florida because there are no predators to go after them – he says pet owners should take precaution.

“To keep your dogs safe, safe on leashes keep it at a short leash, at night time coyotes are more nocturnal, and they'll come at you and take your pet off the leash, cats, you can't leave them in the pool deck, at night time and you can't let them wander around the wander around during the day," Cross said.

Orange County Animal Services said the family would have to hire a private trapper if they wanted the coyotes to be caught.