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DRAPER — An alert for families along Draper and Sandy's east bench: There has been another coyote attack, this time in a family's front yard.
"As soon as he grabbed him, I heard a gasp sound and I knew what it was," Paula Coggins said.
Coggins lives in Draper near the Steeple Chase neighborhood. On Tuesday night at approximately 9:15 p.m., she took Koda, her 11-year-old Pomeranian Chihuahua outside for a break.
She said she was standing near her sidewalk in front of their home when suddenly a coyote sprinted into their yard and grabbed Koda by the neck.
"It picked him up like he was a toy and I chased him over to the corner, and as soon as I got around the corner they were just gone in the night," Coggins said.
Coggins and her family are heartbroken over the attack; they said Koda was a beloved family member.
"My daughter got him when she was in high school and she had to come up with a PowerPoint as to why she deserves a dog," Coggins said. "And when she went to move out to college my husband, who is an attorney and never liked dogs, said 'I think I'm going to sue you for custody.'"
Coggins says her son and husband immediately searched for Koda but he was never found. They're now hoping to warn others along the Draper and Sandy bench to be on alert.
"If it wasn't afraid of me yelling and rushing it, it could grab anything," said Coggins. "I didn't think they would be so aggressive and so close; there are no limitations to what they would do."
Draper city officials say they're receiving reports of coyote sightings every day right now, and they have had five animal deaths linked to coyotes in the last couple of months. All the attacks have occurred east of 1300 East.
Draper officials shared this information back on September 6 after two dogs were killed.
Similar reports of coyotes killing family pets have been made to animal services in Sandy and Midvale in recent weeks.
Utah's predator control program will pay hunters up to $50 for a documented coyote kill in areas where it's permitted, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. You can find more information by visiting Utah's predator control program website.
