SEATTLE, Wash. — A woman says her dog survived a gruesome attack by a coyote in her backyard in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle.
It happened on February 24 around 6 a.m.
Jean Allenbach told KIRO 7 she was waking up when her dog, Bear, ran through his doggy door covered in blood.
“It looks like there is a massacre,” she said.
She didn’t see the coyote, but the injuries were significant. Much of her dog’s skin had been torn off his body. He had a deep hole under his ear. His trachea had been ripped open.
“I just grabbed a towel,” she said. “I wrapped it around him to try to stop him from bleeding.”
Allenbach has a six-foot fence surrounding her backyard, so the animal that attacked Bear would have had to hop it.
Coyotes are not uncommon in this area. Data from Woodland Park Zoo shows 18 reported sightings of coyotes across the Magnolia and Queen Anne neighborhoods in the last 30 days.
“They’re everywhere,” Allenbach said. “I don’t know what to do about it, but something has to be done.”
Bear’s survival is nothing short of a miracle.
“My daughter passed away from suicide two and a half years ago,” she said. “This was her service dog. I swear that she came down and in Mo’s (my daughter’s) fashion, grabbed that coyote, kicked his butt and threw him back over the fence. There’s no other way.”
Bear has a long road to recovery. He’s had several surgeries so far and will need to wear bandages for the next ten months to help his skin heal.
He’s a survivor: a little guy with a big fight and an even bigger heart.
“He just loves to love,” Allenbach said. “He’s just a happy dog.”
A GoFundMe has been created to help the family with expenses. You can donate here.
©2025 Cox Media Group