Layla the Coyote Fighter is the June 16, 2019 Pup of the Week

At first, there was the wolf.  Proud, steady, loyal to his pack, great hunter and provider the wolf ruled his territory.  But inside the wolf's mind, there was conflict.

Part of the wolf wanted to work with men, and live inside their shelter, another part wanted to downsize, become quick and stealthy, and a third part was content being a wolf.

To bring peace to the wolf’s mind, he was split into three different species.  The part that wanted to downsize and rely on speed and cunning became the fox. The part that wanted to be domesticated and work with men became the dog. The rest remained wolves   But, unintentionally there were a fourth species created.

It was born out of jealousy. It hated the dogs for allowing themselves to become domesticated. It despised the close relationship dogs had with humans. It became the opposite of the domesticated dog. Instead of kindness and understanding, it was angry and stubborn. Instead of loyal, it was devious.   From the moment of its creation, it desired to exterminate dogs. This new species was called the coyote.

Since that time, coyotes have been perpetually on the edge of the woods waiting to take their revenge on dogs.  They consider pups to be weak. If dogs turned on their humans, then all wolf descendants would be feared. Every day, somewhere in the world, a coyote attacks an unsuspecting dog.

Last week our good friend Layla became the latest dog targeted by a coyote.   She lives a different life than most of us. She has an entire farm to explore with lots of creatures to chase. But this week she became the prey.  

Layla is a one-year-old, who recently celebrated her Gotcha Day.  She was playing on her farm when a coyote, who had been watching her like a submarine captain searching the ocean for ships,  burst from her hiding spot and ran at Layla.

Layla showed she is wise beyond her years.  She knew she could not fight this beast on a mission, so she ran.  But, even a farm dog like Layla who spends lots of time running was no match for a coyote raised in the wild. 

The coyote caught Layla.  It clenched on to her leg in an attempt to take her down. If the legs went, then the body would follow, leaving the dog helpless.    Layla fought off the attacker and ran for safety.

Her dad had seen the attack.  Coyotes are so jealous of the relationship between dogs and humans they won't even approach people.  This has been the salvation of many a dog after encountering a coyote. Seeing Layla's dad, the coyote slunk back to its hiding spot.

From the moment her dad had seen the coyote, he feared the worst.  He picked up his wounded friend and saw the rip in her leg. He hurried her to the vet.  Layla's Dad was worried about the bleeding, muscular damage, and rabies. Prayer requests for Layla flooded the Bridge.

Luckily all Layla needed was a round of antibiotics.  Once again, a dog’s determination and the love between man and dog was able to defeat the coyotes who wanted to rip man and dog apart.

Layla showed us how to stand up to and survive a coyote attack.  Luckily she also had the essential tool in a dog’s arsenal — the love of a parent.

It truly separates us from the dogs of the wild.