Massachusetts Pets Could be in Danger Now Through March

Massachusetts residents need to pay extra attention to their pets now through early March. It doesn't matter where in the Bay State you live whether it's Boston, Worcester, Springfield, etc. it's more important than ever to keep a close eye on your pets.

When I left for work this morning at 3:30 am, I went to my car and could hear howling in the distance. Then about 35 minutes later right before I arrived at work, on the side of the road, I saw what looked like a coyote staring right into my headlights.

While I was a little surprised at first I remembered that we're probably in coyote mating season in Massachusetts. After checking mass.gov I found out that sure enough, we are. According to the site, coyote mating season runs from early January through early March.

With coyotes becoming more visible in public during this time of year Massachusetts pet owners must protect their furry friends. Below are a few tips from mass.gov.

• Pets should always be directly supervised on a leash when outdoors, especially during the coyote mating season.

• Coyotes can’t differentiate between their natural prey and small pets, so they will view unprotected outdoor cats and small dogs as a potential food source.

• Coyotes can’t distinguish your dog from an intruding coyote, causing the coyote to be more aggressive toward medium- and large-sized dogs as they will view them as potential competition for mates and territory.

• Do not supervise your pet from a distance on your porch or at your back door. Most coyote attacks involve dogs that are unsupervised or being supervised from a distance in a backyard.

The website also offered some other tips regarding avoiding conflicts with coyotes in general including removing human food sources from your property and hazing. You can get more details on those tips by going here.