This sweet little dog, Rascal was adopted Jan 6, 2009 by Mary Lou and he's almost 3 years old.   He was attacked by a coyote on November 5, 2009 in the Mt Helix Area (CA).

His Mom, Mary Lou,  was in North Carolina on vacation and got a call at 1AM on November 6th that Rascal had been attacked and was in pretty bad shape at the emergency hospital.  

The coyote had jumped a 6 ft fence to get into the yard.  Rascals' friend,Lucy,  a miniature schnauzer, was with him and they think her barking probably created enough of a diversion that Rascal was able to escape the coyote and run up the hill through the dogie door into the laundry room.  

The neighbor & friend who was pet sitting Rascal was gone for about an hour and when she got home she heard her dog crying and found both of them in the laundry room,  Rascal covered n blood and Lucy right next to him crying.  

They rushed Rascal to pet emergency hospital where it was determined that he had no organ or internal damage but was missing most of the skin from his shoulders down most of his back.  He was in intensive care for 5 days, bandaged for three weeks and then they were able to pull the skin together enough to stable it shut.  Total number of staples is guessed to be at least 30-40.

Except for the scarring Rascal is doing fine, cheerful and the sweetest disposition… not jumpy or frighten and amazingly friendly little dog.    

Mary Lou hosted our annual Christmas Party and Rascal loved the doorbell, waiting each time it rang to see who was coming and if they brought gifts… he had his little Santa sweater on and was just adorable. Clearly this is a brave little dog and his Mom adores him giving him amazing love and medical care, loving him back to health.   She asked me for a photo of the two of them and the lighting was low and lots of activity but I was able to capture enough to make a Cass Creation for her for the holiday season. 

A heartwarming story… two true survivors… one survived cancer (a few times) and one survived a brutal attack of a coyote probably three times his size! You got to believe God sometimes brings together two beautiful hearts for a reason, as season or a lifetime!

Learn more about coyote encounters in Southern CA and be aware that these are beautiful animals but they are wild and they are pack animals, not pets.  Also in nearby area as above story, four coyotes jumped a fence and attacked a Pitt Bull; He was not as lucky as Rascal, the Pitt Bull did not survive.

Image taken with CanonG10 Artwork Cass 2009©