Dog Recovering After Being Attacked by Coyotes in San Francisco

A woman said she and her dog were surrounded by coyotes in San Francisco when the dog was attacked and left fighting for its life.

The incident happened near 5th and Clement in the Inner Richmond on Dec. 7.

Lyndsay Przybyl said she and her boyfriend, Tim were walking her 13-year-old terrier, Roscoe near their home when she let him off his leash.

“Let me tell you. I will never do that again,” she said.

She said she froze when she saw the coyotes.

“The coyotes just came out of the shadows. Literally they just walked out from behind cars. Roscoe started chasing them and one of them started going fast and I said ‘Roscoe, come here,'” Przybyl said.

Przybyl added that Roscoe was grabbed and taken away by the pack of four coyotes.

Her boyfriend Tim ran them down and he barely caught up.

“[Tim] was clapping, screaming saying stop. Then the coyote just ended up dropping [Roscoe] and just stood over Roscoe and Tim went and just grabbed him,” she said.

The couple then took a Lyft to a 24-Hour Oakland emergency clinic, where Roscoe was treated for six puncture wounds on his neck.

Przybyl reported the incident and Roscoe is now recovering at home.

The San Francisco Animal Care and Control tweeted out an alert to “keep dogs on a leash and cats indoors in areas where coyotes are active.”

Coyotes are common in San Francisco, but NBC Bay Area has done stories this past year about how they appear to be coming closer to humans.

One was spotted casually sitting in the middle of the San Francisco Botanical Garden in June.

Officials at the Coyote Project have said when humans illegally feed the coyotes, it encourages them to approach other people and it doesn’t help.

Przybyl said that she’s happy Roscoe is still alive.

“I’ve had him for so long and to see something like that happen, I really thought that was it and I’m happy it wasn’t. Very lucky to still have him,” she said.