JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It definitely was something you don't see everyday. In Joe Burton's case, it's something he never saw. He returned to his apartment at Southwest Villas on Connie Jean Road near 103rd Street at about 1 p.m. Friday.
"My dog kept barking and wouldn't stop," he said. Burton looked out on to his back patio and figured out why.
"There was a coyote just laying there and it wouldn't move," he said.
Burton immediately called Jacksonville's animal control office. After not having any luck with them, he then called Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Strike two. "They said it's private property and it's not their problem," Burton said.
He called 911 and a Jacksonville officer came out. The officer tried to frighten the animal to make it go on its way. That didn't work. It remained on the patio, unfazed, Burton said.
He believed the animal was ill because it wouldn't move.
Burton then did what everyone does when they need quick information.
He went to Google.
There, he found a group called Quick Catch on San Jose Boulevard. They were there in 15 minutes removing the animal.
According to humanesociety.org coyotes are generally nocturnal and seldom seen. You may catch a glimpse of a coyote as they move from one part of their territory to another in search of prey, such as small mammals like moles or mice.
Burton said the coyote he found on the patio was sick, which was evident when it didn't try to avoid humans and how it collapsed once the trappers loaded it in their truck.
After the coyote was removed, there was still something sticking in Burton's craw. The lack of action from the city's animal control and FWC. "Why are we paying them?" the veteran said.
