Saturday, two coyotes attacked a dog near Bluffers Park in Scarborough. For those not from around these parts, Scarborough is a suburb to the east of Toronto and Bluffers Park is parkland along Lake Ontario. The owner of the dog fought off the coyotes as they bit her dog.

Normally, we don’t even see coyotes around the city, much less hear about attacks. This last year though, there have been a number of sitings, including in Colonel Sam Smith Park, just down the street from Anchovy World Headquarters, and also along the Etobicoke Creek valley.

I haven’t seen the coyotes in our park, but I know they’re around. If I take Memphis out into the park late at night, I carry a hardwood walking stick with me, just in case. Hopefully Memphis is big enough that her size would deter a coyote, but still I try to be careful.