Woman fends off coyote trying to attack dog in Reading

READING, Mass. — A woman was attacked by a coyote in Reading Monday on Avalon Road and punched the animal to put an end to the attack.

"So I was scratched here, but I punched her in the mouth and I had to get rabies shots for that," Jessica Jones said.

Jones was visiting from the UK and was letting her friend's dog out when a coyote clawed her arm as she protected the family pet, Roxy.

"Yeah, I just shoved my arm up in front of the dog, then punched the coyote in the face," she said. "Then grabbed the dog and ran off."

The coyote took off too. Jess says she had just let Roxy out when the small dog got caught in some bushes.

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"The coyote was behind me and I only found out because she barked at it," she said.

Jess says these kinds of attacks don't happen at home.

"We don't have predators like that in the UK, so it’s strange," she said. "There's not really any control over it here."

Jessica’s friend Grace says coyotes are more common in Reading.

"It has been a problem in the past, especially the last few months," said Grace Tully. "People have called the cops and have filed reports about this, nothing has come to fruition."

Cox Media Group