A dog in Kirkland suffered minor injuries to its back legs early Tuesday after being attacked by a coyote that has become a regular sight in the West Island neighbourhood.

Dog owner Nathalie Bouchard said she was taking her pet Buffy for a walk at around 1:00 a.m. when the attack happened.

“I heard her scream, so I pulled the leash and looked and there was a coyote on top of her,” she said. “I pulled the leash as quick as I could and grabbed her in my arms. I started screaming but the coyote wouldn’t move away.”

Bouchard then called 911. A neighbour heard her screaming and drove up in an SUV so Bouchard and Buffy could get away.

Traps have been deployed by the city in the hopes of catching the coyote. Animal control has passed out notices warning residents against trying to capture the animal on their own.

Despite the incident, Montreal Ecomuseum Executive Director David Rodrigue said humans should not attempt to feed wild animals like coyotes, as they can become used to the presence of people, making attacks like the one on Buffy more common. He noted that coyote sitings have become more recent in recent years.

"When you do that, they habituate themselves to humans and then they get more daring and they come closer," he said. "As far as the dog goes, a very small dog, when you look at what coyotes naturally eat, they'll take micro-mammals. We're talking about a chihuahua here, the size fits."