Chico the Chihuahua is -- remarkably -- alive and well after escaping the clutches of a coyote in an attack captured on camera.
In broad daylight at 11 a.m., a brazen adult coyote meandered into the Chatsworth backyard of Kerri and Larry Ruiz.
In mere seconds, the coyote chomped down on the hapless Chihuahua, who was unable to fight back.
"They took Chico! Oh my god!" can be heard on the Ring video.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
Kerri saw it go down from her kitchen window.
Hysterical with fear, Kerri had run screaming into the bedroom.
Her husband Larry and their son had taken off across the yard in pursuit.
But by then, the coyote had jumped a brick wall and into a neighbor’s yard.
That's when Kerri remembered she had a hand-held air horn.
Larry started putting them around the house years ago.
"One at every single door," Larry said. "Because we know they’re around. We know this is coyote country."
Petrified by the sound, the coyote decided to drop Chico and run.
The pup only suffered some puncture wounds and a broken rib.
After a visit to the vet and an annoying plastic head cone, he healed up just fine a few weeks later.
The Ruizes said there’s a lesson here for all pet owners -- and it’s really quite simple.
"Never, ever, ever let their animals outside unattended," Kerri said.
Coyotes hunt 24/7, says larry.
They say your backyard and your wall are no protection, not even sunlight.
"We thought they were just, like, nocturnal. No, they’re not," Larry said.
They don’t blame the coyotes. They said they’re just wild animals, looking for food.
But pet owners need to be smart about that, they said
And just in case, they say to keep something nice and loud handy -- it could save your pet.
