Posted: June 10, 2009

River Hills — Oliver, an 8-year-old West Highland white terrier from River Hills, seems like your average dog. He's small and playful, he sits when told to - most of the time - and he enjoys running around the backyard, long walks and visits to the dog park.

"He's kind of the boss around here," said Brad Shovers, Oliver's owner.

But on a Thursday afternoon in May, a coyote walked into the Shovers' backyard and attacked Oliver, leaving a large scratch above his tail and bite marks on his hind legs, then wandered back into the woods behind their house.

It was 4:30 p.m., and Oliver had only been alone outside for 10 minutes. Brad was home upstairs when he heard Oliver barking. He looked out the window to check on Oliver. That's when he saw a coyote leaving the yard, walking back into the woods.

"It was a big coyote," said Brad. Oliver weighs about 25 pounds and the coyote appeared to weigh close to 75 pounds, he said.

He hurried downstairs to find Oliver limping toward the house.

"I could see right away that he was injured," said Brad.

Brad took Oliver to the 24-hour Animal Emergency Center and the next day, Oliver was taken to his regular veterinarian, Terry Jacobs, at Park Pet Hospital. Jacobs put Oliver on antibiotics and pain medicine and diminished any concerns about rabies because all of Oliver's shots were up to date, according to the Shovers. Today, Oliver is happy and healthy, and his injuries are nearly completely healed.

"We feel lucky that Oliver survived it," said Brad.

Oliver has had a number of encounters with the coyotes in the eight years the Shovers have owned him. The coyotes have a tendency to creep out of the woods that sit behind the Shovers' house.

But this May was the first time Oliver was ever physically attacked. Remarkably, since the attack, Oliver hasn't changed a bit, said the Shovers.

"He's not afraid of anything," said Brad. "He's just the same as he was."

One thing that has changed: Oliver's supervision.

"We always want someone watching him," said Brad.