Overview
- Rescuers tracked neighborhood sightings for weeks, captured Wendy in late August and the coyote spent about a week in care before veterinarians made a final welfare decision.
- A veterinary exam and diagnostic imaging announced Tuesday showed two pellets lodged in her head and a severe infection that destroyed part of her upper left jaw.
- Vets treated Wendy with antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and soft food but concluded she would require a lifelong soft-food diet and could not survive or be returned to the wild, so they humanely euthanized her.
- Southern California Pit Bull Rescue’s founder has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who shot Wendy, and no arrests have been reported.
- Local laws ban discharging pellet or BB guns outside authorized ranges and shooting wildlife that causes needless suffering can meet felony animal cruelty charges, while experts warn feeding coyotes can habituate them and increase human-wildlife conflict.