Not too many people can say they have ever found a coyote in their house, but Jake McChesney can. Last month, the Washingtonian came home to find his dog sniffing a small pup in his kitchen. When he took a closer look he realized it wasn't a pup, but a baby coyote. Jake realized the puppy was in bad shape — it was extremely dehydrated and scared to death.
So McChesney decided to help. First, he called a local animal rescue. Unfortunately, they weren't open so he decided to do — what he thought — was the next best thing and call Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for assistance.
The WDFW was no real help. At first they told him to shoo it out of his house but when Jake suggested that wasn't a good idea, they told him to just shoot it. Jake was shocked. For him, "That wasn't even close to an option." Finally, with the help of his local police department, McChesney got a hold of Don Caraway, a state-authorized wildlife control officer.
Mr. Caraway came to Jake's house and promised to release it into the wild where he assured him the mother would be able to find it. Jake thought that he had left the lost wild pup in good hands, but he couldn't have been more wrong.
Caraway did not release the puppy. Instead, he drowned and buried it. All McChesney's efforts to save the baby coyote had been in vain because of Mr. Caraway's cruelty.
According to the WDFW website, wildlife control officers should only euthanize animals via humane methods. Drowning is not one of them. In fact, drowning is explicitly named as one of the methods the WDFW asks their animal control officers to avoid. Despite that, Caraway decided to cause the poor, already suffering animal more pain in its final minutes of life.
Mr. Caraway willfully lied to McChesney about his intentions for the baby coyote and then he cruelly dispatched it. Mr. Caraway should be fired and his wildlife control officer authorization should be withdrawn. There is no excuse for animal cruelty and Caraway's actions demonstrate no respect for wildlife or common decency.
Sign the petition and ask the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to end their relationship with Mr. Caraway.
