Trevor Frey/Daily News Rosy Daniels of Westgate Veterinary Hospital pets Jack, a 4-month-old Chihuahua who had his leg amputated after a coyote attack.

Rose Basham never dreamed that her dogs would be in danger of attack by coyotes in broad daylight – especially so close to her fenced-in yard. But apparently a pack of adolescent coyotes braved exposure and descended on Basham’s beloved Chihuahua, Jack, severely injuring his leg.

“I heard a commotion and came out and saw three coyotes attacking my dogs,” she said. “It was awful. They were dragging (Jack) away by his leg like a little squirrel before my golden retriever, Magnum, fought them off.”

Jack is only 4 months old. His leg was “severely mauled,” according to Rosy Daniels at Westgate Veterinary Hospital.

“We did surgery but had to amputate his left rear leg,” Daniels said. “It was demolished. Because of the pressure of the bite, the leg was completely mauled.”

The operation was performed by veterinarian Don Denton.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Daniels said. “We were shocked (coyotes) jumped in.”

She has a fenced-in yard and said something like this has never happened before.

Basham lives on Detour Road, off Ky. 185 northwest of Plum Springs. She said a few weeks ago her daughter’s cat disappeared. Around the same time her neighbor’s cat disappeared.

Basham said not only does she fear for her dogs now, one a 21-year-old mix that she’s especially close to, but she fears for her 21/2-year-old grandson and 7-year-old son.

“I’m scared to let them outside now,” she said. “Coyotes don’t usually come out during the day.”

Basham said she contacted the Warren County Sheriff’s Office but was told they couldn’t do anything and to call the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. That office told Basham she’d likely need to hire either a professional trapper or nuisance wildlife control specialist.

“She did the right thing in calling us,” said Bill Lynch of Fish and Wildlife. “There are several options for people based on local municipal laws.

“(The Bashams) are in the county so it is legal to shoot them in Warren County. I always recommend they call their sheriff’s office before doing that, though. The law is you can shoot them in the county if you have a valid hunting license because they are considered varmint creatures. If the creatures are on your land, you don’t need a license.”

Lynch said it is not legal to discharge a firearm inside the city limits and that the Warren County animal control officer will have details on exactly what the laws permit in this situation. James Heddie, the local game law enforcement officer, could not be reached for comment.

In most cases, Lynch said, they will provide landowners with a list of nuisance wildlife control specialists who are certified by the state to come onto people’s properties and dispose of animals. The KDFWR does not do private land trappings. It does, however, loan out live traps to landowners for certain smaller varmints like raccoons and possums.

“Coyotes require professionals because they are bigger and smarter and are predators,” he said.

Another option is forming watch groups within neighborhoods.

“We need to get back into the mode of talking to neighbors and consolidating resources,” he said. “Neighbors and landowners can pool resources to avoid having to use a nuisance operator, who may charge quite a bit more than the cost of neighbors working together.”

Lynch said it is important for neighbors to get permission from each other to track and trap animals on different properties. Lynch also advised getting a licensed trapper involved who can go out on a periodic schedule.

“A trapper will use nonlethal means to trap the animals and remove them from the property,” he said. “I guarantee you, these coyotes were just extending their range. They were hungry, not as smart, adolescent coyotes. A trapper can put pressure on them so that their population stays manageable. Usually I’d go through a game warden and they’ll know who trappers are. (The county) did that before with beavers in downtown Bowling Green. You have to use live or safe traps in the city limits.”

Basham said her concern is for the elderly people and children in her neighborhood since the coyotes seem to be coming out in the daytime.

“I want the neighborhood to know about it because there is a lot of little children on this road,” she said. “I’ve been here three years and this is the first time anything like this has ever happened. You can hear them down by the river howling around, but they’ve never come up here before.”