A Scottsdale woman is warning others about coyotes in the area of Thompson Peak Park after her dog was killed.
At Thompson Peak Park, there are now signs warning of coyotes. But they’re up because Rachel Rogers put them there herself.
“A coyote came right here, literally two feet away from me," Rogers said.
That was June 30 as she was sitting on a bench near the swing set. Rogers said she was watching her 5-year-old Yorkie-Poo Lucy play in the grass behind her, when a coyote attacked and killed her dog.
“It’s horrible to think I’ll never see her again, and it was just right there, right next to me," Rogers said. "And there was nothing I could do.”
Just weeks before, a 5-year-old girl was also bitten at the same park.
According to Arizona Game and Fish, the girl was eating a granola bar, sitting on a slide, unaware that a coyote was sleeping underneath.
“I made signs because I was very shocked that after the child was bit, no one put up anything to warn other people for their children or for their animals," Rogers said.
Arizona Game and Fish discourages people from feeding coyotes and other wildlife because it attracts them to public places.
“People need to know not to feed them, and they need to know to be aware with their children and with their dogs when they're here," Rogers said.
It's a warning Rogers wishes she would’ve had before bringing her dog Lucy to the park.
