Coyote attacks dog, stalks hiker in Hopkinton
HOPKINTON, R.I. (AP) — A coyote attacked a leashed dog and then stalked the dog's owner in Hopkinton.
The Westerly Sun reports that Joellen Ruisi of Westerly was with her dog, Mama Grace, when she heard a rustling and saw the coyote.
She was worried it had rabies and threw her backpack at it, but it didn't flinch. Her dog got into a skirmish with the animal, and she kicked it, but it kept following them.
She ran to her car but the coyote chased them then stood outside the vehicle.
Ruisi had to get rabies shots because as she fled, she fell and cut her knee. Health officials were worried the animal's saliva got in the wound.
Police Chief David Palmer says five coyotes were seen in the area.
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