ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – With neighbors on edge in Atlantic Beach, another coyote attack took place Wednesday night, and our News4JAX crew witnessed it while on assignment.
A dog owner and his German Shepherd were bitten in the attack that came on the same day another Atlantic Beach resident said he was recovering from a different attack.
Ashton Kennedy was walking his dog when our crew first spotted the coyote. It was captured on camera, along with Kennedy running from the animal.
Kennedy said the coyote jumped out of a wooded area near Jasmine and 6th streets. He said when the coyote first jumped out, he thought it was a fox.
But Kennedy said that moments later, his dog started fighting with the coyote, and it even followed them back to his house.
“Kind of crazy,” Kennedy said. “Kind of unimaginable. I was holding the coyote by his neck, and when I let go, he went right to my leg. My dog was holding it back by his leg, and I told the dog to go home. And then the coyote started following us back to the house.”
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Kennedy was bitten on his leg. Our crew was able to call 911 for help.
The Atlantic Beach Police Department and Jacksonville Fire Rescue quickly responded to the incident.
Medics said Kennedy would need a rabies shot.
An officer fired one shot at the coyote, which was found dead the next day. Police said they believe that multiple coyotes might be on the loose in the area, so residents are still urged to be cautious.
Thomas Cathey said he was still recovering from his shocking attack near Donald Dagley’s Workshop, a junkyard not far from Begonia Street where he works.
“Yeah, got me a couple places here...still trickling blood a little here, had a death grip on my arm here, took a while to get him off,” Cathey said. “Fortunately, not that bad, and they took care of me at the emergency room.”
The City of Atlantic Beach said it has received multiple reports of coyote attacks in the area that happened over the past couple of days.
According to the city, after Cathey was attacked Tuesday, a coyote approached another person Wednesday morning, before a dog fended off the attack. The city said the dog was injured during the incident.
“It’s abnormal,” Cathey said. “We’ve been around here for years, and it doesn’t happen. I don’t know if the animal’s sick or something... He’s in a state of shock or something. He’s not acting normal. Just a bad occurrence and hopefully, they’ll catch it before he hurts a kid.”
The city is asking the public to be cautious while out in the area; they are asking people to leave their pets inside and to make sure they don’t have any potential food sources in their yards.
