Full Notification

Over the weekend there was a report of a dog being attacked in the 1200 block of W. Madison Ave. Believing it may have been a coyote, we would like to provide our residents with some information from the Department of Fish and Wildlife on how to keep your family and pets safe and the coyotes away. 

Coyotes and other wildlife may be your neighbors. 

• Never feed or attempt to “tame” a coyote 
• Don’t leave small children or pets outside unattended 
• Remove sources of water, especially in dry climates 
• Trim ground-level shrubbery to reduce hiding places 
• Put trash in tightly closed containers that cannot tip over 
• Do not leave pet food outside and bring pets in at night 
• Provide secure enclosures for rabbits, poultry, etc. 
• Pick up fallen fruit and cover compost piles 
• Install motion-sensitive lighting around the house 
If followed by a coyote, make loud noises. If this fails, throw rocks in the animal’s direction. 

Feeding wildlife is dead wrong. 

Allowing wild animals access to human food and garbage can be deadly. Wild animals naturally fear people, keep a distance, and will not bother you, so long as they remain truly wild. But if they have access to human food and garbage, they want more. Their natural ways are ruined. Their normal wildness and fear of humans is lost. That’s when conflicts occur. 

Keep them wild. 

If in doubt about what to do, ask your local Fish and Game warden,or law enforcement officer. Or visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/Keep-Me-Wild 

You may not realize it – a simple bag of garbage, bowl of pet food, or plate of leftovers left outside your home or vacation site, can cause severe harm to wildlife. 

Whether you live in a city or a rural part of California, wild animals are your neighbors. Most wild animals will not bother you. They naturally fear humans and keep their distance – so long as they remain fully wild. 

But if wild animals have access to human food and garbage, they want more and more. They lose their natural fear of humans and can become aggressive. 

If bears and other wild animals damage property or threaten human safety, they might be killed. Allowing wild animals access to human food is dead wrong.