LYNNFIELD — Kerrianne Allain usually takes pictures, so it was a bit unsettling for her to be on the other end of the camera.
Allain has had several Lynnfield High sports photos published in The Item, and the weekly newspapers from Lynnfield and Peabody.
But she didn’t have any of those high-powered lenses anywhere near her when she came face-to-face with a coyote.
“I took two pictures,” she said, “but they were with my phone. I wasn’t about to turn and go into my house. I didn’t want to be his dinner.”
Allain was outside late last week, down by the foot of her 400-foot driveway when she saw the animal.
“At first,” she said, “I thought it was a dog. But when I looked closer, I knew it wasn’t a dog.”
It was a coyote, and he was acting strangely.
She started backing up to her house, but the animal just stood there, looking at her. At that moment, her son, Hunter, a former Lynnfield High football player, was leaving the house. She jumped into his car.
“He started honking the horn, but instead of going away, the animal started going toward my car,” she said. “Finally, he turned around and went into the woods.” But not before getting stuck on a thorn bush, from which he had to extricate himself.
“At that point,” Allain said, “I notified my neighbors and one of them called Animal Control.
“I live bordering the woods, and on the end of a private way,” she said. “I tell people ‘I live in the woods so nobody can find me. But they all found me.'”
“They” are crews from Boston’s television stations, who descended on her house Thursday to interview her. She didn’t even know why they were there until they mentioned the coyote that was captured Monday on Lynnbrook Road in Lynnfield, and tested positive for rabies. It was later destroyed.
“I didn’t see him get captured, and I don’t know what they did,” Allain said.
Allain said the woods behind her house “is loaded with animals.
“We have a lot of deer, and foxes, and coyotes,” she said. “It’s not uncommon to see them, or hear them. But they don’t just come walking up to you.”
Animal Control cautioned that rabies is a serious disease and immediate consultation is necessary after possible exposures. Any person who was exposed to the coyote’s saliva through a bite, scratch, or fresh wound, or got coyote saliva in their eyes, nose or mouth, has had a high-risk exposure.
Animal Control warned residents that if they or someone they know may have had contact with this coyote, they should immediately contact the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) at 617-983-6800 (available 24 hours), or a health care provider. Following an exposure to rabies, disease can be prevented with prompt administration of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis.
The announcement also warned residents who have pets that may have had contact with the coyote, to contact either the Lynnfield Animal Control at 781-983-1804, or Lynn Animal Control at 781-552-2361, for further information.
Animal Control said it is also possible that the coyote could have spread rabies to another wild animal and that anyone who observes a wild animal that is sick or acting strangely should report it to an animal control official. It is also important to ensure that all pets are currently vaccinated for rabies to help protect them and humans if they are exposed to a rabid animal.
