'It happened so fast': Family says dog was killed by coyote in Markham

Dian Dian, a 13-year-old Yorkie, was killed during a coyote attack in Markham Friday, family members say. (Source: David Ouyang)

TORONTO -

A coyote attack in Markham Friday night has left a 13-year-old dog dead, according to family members.

David Ouyang told CTV News Toronto that his in-laws were in town from Montreal and brought with them their Yorkie named Dian Dian.

Ouyang said the eight-pound dog was out for a walk with his owners in the area of Mint Leaf Park, near 16th Avenue and Ninth Line, when the coyote approached and attacked.

“They thought it was a dog in the beginning,” Ouyang explained. “I still thought it was a dream to me because it happened so fast."

Video captured by neighbours and sent to CTV News Toronto before Friday’s incident shows a coyote roaming the residential streets surrounding the park appearing to search for food. In another video, a coyote can be seen charging at a family.

The problem isn’t specific to Markham. Last month, a coyote was spotted in Scarborough near Warden Avenue and St. Clair Avenue East and even nipped at a woman’s pant leg while she was gardening. Days earlier, another Yorkie ended up in intensive care after it was seen defending its 10-year-old owner following a separate coyote attack nearby.

Wildlife experts say that coyotes will frequent urban areas in search of food and will become conditioned to people who live nearby.

For Ouyang’s part, he worries that if the issue is left unchecked, something even worse could happen.

“It’s quite dangerous and as you can see kids playing on the streets and people walking their dogs all the time, it is not safe,” he said.

With files from CTV News Toronto's Austin Delaney