A coyote in McKinney killed a family’s dog this past Monday night.

The incident occurred in the Stone Brooke Crossing neighborhood near Virginia Parkway and Ridge Road. Needless to say, the Stone Brooke Crossing community is on high alert.

Silvio Mokotov was following shortly behind his 11-year-old daughter and her friend who were walking their dog, Rusty.

Rusty escaped from his leash upon seeing a coyote and ran toward it. “It happened in a few seconds,” Mokotov said.

Soon, he started to hear the dog screaming. In his own words, it sounded “really, really, really bad.”

Rusty was severely wounded when he ran into the street and fell down. Almost immediately after, he was hit by a car.

Rusty could not be revived. A few hours earlier, neighbors had seen a coyote and taken pictures of it, posting it on an online message board. It is assumed that this is the same coyote who harmed Rusty.

Resident Debi Reilly and her son Nick saw the coyote. Debi Reilly was worried “because a lot of kids and you know families walk and jog.”

Nick Reilly stated that the coyote did not seem afraid. “He was just sniffing around, wasn’t scared, wasn’t hesitant of anything … A car actually honked and he went about his business,” Nick Reilly stated.

The city of McKinney has reportedly received calls about the coyote before but has had trouble locating it. The calls reported that the coyote was potentially injured.

Mokotov puts the responsibility on the city for fixing this issue. “I believe the city has to take care of it,” he said.

Mokotov believes Rusty ran out to the coyote in an effort to protect the family, and so deems the dog a hero. “I have no question about that … For sure he was a complete hero,” he said.

Coyote attacks are rare, but they can happen. Important tips for behaving around coyotes are to never feed coyotes, never let any pets run loose, and never run away from coyotes. Rather intimidate them by yelling, throwing something in their direction, or waving your arms.