Olga Colon is battered and bruised, but thankful to be alive. The 83-year-old from Seffner is recovering at Brandon Regional Hospital after she says a coyote attacked her and killed her dog.
The terrifying attack happened around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.
Colon said she took her Chihuahua, Pinky, on their usual walk in her neighborhood when a coyote appeared out of nowhere and started attacking her dog.
“When she went to go pick up the dog, it threw her to the ground,” Colon’s niece Daphne Camacho told News Channel 8.
“She was fighting the coyote, trying to hold onto her dog, and that’s when it bit her finger and started biting her, and ripped the dog out of her hands.”
Colon says the coyote carried her dog away and she was left with a nearly severed finger.
“They had to put pins in her finger just to reattach her finger. Everything was just kind of broken in her index finger,” Camacho said.
Camacho said her aunt is positive it was a coyote after being shown a photo.
“Dogs really don’t take other animals in their mouth after they attack it. So only a coyote would take it just to feed on it,” she said.
The attack happened within feet of Seffner Elementary School.
A FWC spokesperson said they can’t confirm it’s a coyote attack yet, but they’re treating it like one. They’re increasing patrols, especially before and after school.
Although FWC says attacks aren’t common, they say small animals are most at risk.
FWC recommends that pet owners be vigilant, especially when walking your pet in the dark.
Olga has a long recovery ahead physically and emotionally. She said she hopes her story is a warning for others.
“She says that she will never again walk around her neighborhood, and she’ll be a lot more careful when she goes into her home. There’s many kids in her neighborhood and that they need to be aware that this could happen to anybody,” Colon’s nephew Juan Camacho said.