Coyote Tracker Facebook Group Works to Keep Pets Safe from Coyotes in Worcester

Members of a Worcester-based coyote tracker group have joined forces to inform residents about the dangers of coyotes and help pet owners keep their animals safe from attacks.

Chris Demma and his canines Albie and Finley are self-taught “coyote trackers” with experience. Demma founded a Worcester coyote tracker Facebook page to raise awareness about the presence of coyotes in his Worcester neighborhood after his dog Finley got out of the house on Christmas Eve six years ago and was attacked by a roving coyote.

When Demma found Finley, the dog was severely wounded. Demma rushed his German shepherd to an emergency vet. “Tufts was incredible,” Demma said in an interview with Spectrum News 1. "She might have had, I don't know, maybe 40 or 50 stitches between her legs, her arms, her head, her neck. They were like, ‘No way it was coyotes.' They thought it was a bear.”

Fortunately for Demma, Finley recovered, but the medical care cost Demma thousands in bills. Today, Demma uses motion-activated cameras to detect coyote activity and social media to spread the word about coyotes.

“That's kind of the reason why I started that Coyote Tracker page is because I wanted everybody to know what is going on here in the city, that you do have to be really careful with your pets,” Demma said, “and you don't know when it's going to happen until it happens. Our pets are part of our family, and we got to do what we can to protect them, and that's what we're doing.”