Florida Firefighters Rescue Exhausted Coyote Pup Mistaken for Dog in Canal
A routine animal rescue call took an unexpected turn this week when Cape Coral firefighters discovered the “dog” they’d been sent to save was actually a young coyote.
The Cape Coral Fire Department said Engine 9 and Rescue 9 crews were dispatched Monday after a report came in describing a dog stranded in a canal near Britannia Lake. With the animal’s exact location uncertain, a local resident paddling a kayak nearby kept eyes on it and guided firefighters to the dock where it had vanished from sight.
Crews then waded into the water themselves, working to free the animal from the tight space beneath the dock where it had become wedged. According to the department’s social media post, firefighters managed to pull out not a dog, but a coyote pup, one so worn out from its ordeal that it couldn’t be released back into the wild on the spot.
The young coyote was brought to East West Veterinary Care Center for evaluation. From there, it’s set to be handed off to the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, where it will stay until it’s strong enough to be returned to its natural habitat.
The rescue is a reminder that not every animal in distress is what it first appears to be, and that a quick-thinking bystander can make all the difference in getting help to the right place at the right time.
