Sept 4, 2014 spotted what looked like a young coyote

by Karin
(Paris, Ontario, Canada )

This evening while driving home from dinner, we spotted a very odd, sick looking animal.

It was hard to tell exactly what it was due to its mangy appearance but it was dog-like with the greyish-brown colour of a Coyote.

It was very skinny and its fur was patchy and it came out of the woods on the river side of East River Road in Paris, Ontario, just west of Green Lane.

It walked in front of the car ahead of us and they braked so we braked and went very slowly while it seemed to be orienting itself to the road.

It proceeded up the middle of the road behind us oblivious to oncoming traffic and eventually meandered back into the culvert on the river side of the road.

It was concerning because of the state of the animal.

The river trail is right there with pedestrians, bikers and dogs.

I didn't think these animals were solitary which means there are probably more.

I would like to report to local authorities but I don't know who to call.

Thank you for writing to us, Karin, I would guess that the animal you saw was a Coyote with mange, which is caused by a mite which burrows into the skin of the animal and causes great distress, and eventually, death.