Continental police deal with coyote problem - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Continental has a coyote problem. The wild animals are attacking dogs in one local village, and now officers are trying to track them down.

"This is the first time we've had a weekend where we've had numerous attacks and numerous sightings," says Continental Police Chief Arnie Hardy.

Police are looking for whatever's behind attacks on two dogs, and all signs point to coyotes!

Norbert Ruen is the manager of the mobile home community in Contintental where a small dog on a chain was mauled to death.

"They just got up from taking a nap, went to let the dog back in and there it laid," says Ruen.

Police say the attack came around the same time as one on a full-grown boxer on the opposite side of town.

The vet told the owner it wasn't just one coyote, but two.

Now, officers are doing what they can to keep the nuisance animals away.

The chief of police says a Putnam County deputy has been on the lookout for the coyotes recently. He actually spotted one using a thermal imaging camera on the west side of town, but, so far, no one has been close enough to kill or capture.

"He was on the edge of town," says Chief Hardy. "It was outside of town, and we don't want anybody hunting in town for the coyotes. But we're trying to do our best to keep them outside of town. They're wild animals. They're going to come where the food sources are."

And those food sources could be anything from pet food to pets themselves.

State wildlife officers are also investigating.

Meanwhile, police in Continental say coyotes were also spotted near the school. They're warning students: if you see what looks like a mangy-looking dog, don't go near it and tell an adult.