We live in a housing tract (built in 1984) in the hills east of Orange, California.  Sometime around 2002 my husband and I were accosted by 2 persistent coyotes as we walked in our neighborhood at 5:30 AM.  One stalked us from the front, the other from the rear.  We decided to split up and each of us charged one coyote, causing them to run away and leave us alone.  It was disturbing nonetheless. Another neighbor told us that she had walked out of her front door to find herself confronted by a large coyote, who seemed unconcerned about her approach, but eventually wandering back down the street.

Then, in October 2009, a coyote jumped a 6 foot backyard fence and tried to kill our 15 pound rescue mutt at 5:45 AM as the dog was doing his "business" in the back yard.  We heard his cries and rushed back there, scaring the coyote off and enabling us to get the dog to an emergency vet hospital and save his life.  It cost him a week in the hospital and us a little over $3,000 but we were happy to see him survive.  We started going into the yard with him on every bathroom trip, but that wasn't enough to save him from a rattlesnake bite a little over a week ago.  Once again, the dog survived, thanks to another excellent vet and a little over $1,400 out of our bank account.  We think it has something to do with climate change---no water and very little food up in the dry hills around our tract, but I've learned to carry a golf club with me on all walks to be very aware of what might be looking at me as his next meal/victim!