Ten-Pound Maltese Scares Off Coyotes Attacking Fur Brother

A Maltese mix with just three teeth warded off two coyotes that attacked his fur brother Harley. 

Owners Erin and David Macaluso said 11-year-old Vinny has always been a scrapper, CBS News reported.

At 11 years old and with three remaining teeth, a Mission Viejo pooch proved he still had that dog left in him when a pair of coyotes attacked his little brother. https://t.co/NjRgXSbIun

— KCAL News (@kcalnews) May 31, 2023

“I knew he was fearless but I didn’t understand how fearless,” Erin told KETV.

A few weeks ago, the couple returned to their Mission Viejo, California, home from a walk with Vinny and Harley. They had left the doggie door to the backyard open, and the two dogs wandered outside where the attack occurred. 

Surveillance footage from the house shows a coyote jumping over the fence. There was another coyote on the other side of the fence during the attack. The coyote grabbed onto Harley, and he started to howl. That’s when the 10-pound rescue charged toward the coyote weighing in at least twice his size. Vinny was all bark and no bite, but that was enough to spook the coyote.

Caught on camera: Brave dog chases away coyote, saves his puppy brother https://t.co/lZkjuvD5Gm

— KETV NewsWatch 7 (@KETV) May 31, 2023

Doctors said Harley was bitten three to four times, and he needed 20 stitches to sew up his wounds, Erin said. The coyotes first bit Harley on his neck.

“He flipped over and then they grabbed him by his chest,” Erin told KTLA. “That’s when Vinny came, and they let him go.”

The Macaluso family said Harley is healing well, but has been sticking closer to them since the incident.

"He's always been a scrapper," the owner of the dog, named Vinny, told KTLA.https://t.co/MZ5dcEIQHe

— KTLA (@KTLA) May 30, 2023

“I’m looking for a doggie cape but I haven’t found one,” Erin told CBS news. “I’d give him a steak but he has no teeth.”

There is an estimate of 250,000 to 750,000 coyotes living in California, according to the California Department of Fish and Game. While coyotes are typically skittish; the rise in housing development has put the creatures in closer proximity to people — making interactions more common.

RELATED: NATURE CALLS! — Animal Control Finds Coyote in CA School Bathroom:

Riverside County Animal Services / AMAZING ANIMALS+ / TMX

Breitbart reported earlier this month that a coyote slipped through the doggy door of a Los Angeles home. The homeowner’s brother scared the coyote away before any harm could happen. 

Wildlife experts advise residents to make sure all trash is secure and also to make sure all doors and doggy doors are closed and locked.