Woman Attacked by a Coyote While Checking on Her Dogs Outside Her Home: ‘You Can’t Get That Out of Your Head’

A Pennsylvania woman says she thought she was going to die when a wild animal suddenly attacked her just outside her house.

On Friday, Nov. 28, Brandy Williard stepped outside her home in Claysville to check on her dogs when an animal she believes was a coyote “lunged” at her and pinned her against her truck, she told KOLD News 13. As it attacked, her dogs scrambled for safety underneath the vehicle.

“‘Okay, I’m getting killed,’ is what I was thinking,” Williard recalled in her interview with the outlet. “I had my hands like a pretzel trying to get it off of me.”

Williard was left with deep scratches on her face, arms and legs. “I was on fire. It burned — my whole body just burnt,” she said of the pain from her injuries.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) told KOLD News 13 that attacks by coyotes are considered rare in the area and said they could not confirm whether the animal that attacked Williard was a coyote or another wild creature.

Williard, however, is certain about what confronted her. “I know what it was. I know what I saw,” she said. “I know what kind of noise it made. You can’t get that out of your head.”

Because the animal has not been located or tested, Williard is required to undergo a series of rabies shots as a precaution.

She said she’s especially thankful that her dogs were not seriously injured. “I’m not going to let you eat my dog. It just was not going to happen,” she said. “I was going to get eaten first.”

According to the PGC, the Eastern coyote is most commonly found in northern Pennsylvania and is the largest wild canine in the state. Adult males typically weigh between 45 and 55 pounds, while females usually weigh 35 to 40 pounds. The agency notes that coyotes are primarily nocturnal but often hunt during daylight hours — particularly in the morning — and that their senses of smell and hearing, as well as their overall alertness, are especially sharp.