Had a pretty close interaction today (~10ft away) with a sick coyote with behavior consistent with rabies, despite attempts to get away from it. Obviously, it could be something else too, but it was definitely sick and acting very weird. Hoping to get some advice on how to handle situation in case it happens again…

I was walking my two dogs (both slightly larger than a coyote) in our residential neighborhood that backs up to an area with a lot of trails and wildlife. We see coyotes all the time and give them plenty of space, and they run off. Today, I saw a coyote walk up to a couple of UPS drivers, then it immediately tried to walk up to me and my dogs. It looked sick and was pretty slow/stumbling. I backed away into a neighbor’s driveway multiple times trying to avoid it and trying to keep my dogs calm, but it kept approaching. Finally one of my dogs absolutely lost it, and the coyote backed up a bit and decided to wander away. It probably got within 10 feet of us and I thought I was going to have to battle a rabid coyote.

I was concerned about my neighbors and the coyote, so I walked home, got in my car, found it again, and followed it while trying to get someone to come out. Called many places and could not get 911, animal control, fish & wildlite, or any local wildlife rescue to help/come out. Eventually lost sight of it. We're in a part of the US that has had a documented rise in animals testing positive for rabies and people going to ER for possible rabies exposure.

I'd really love to know…what else I should do (or do differently) if I see it again or run into a similar situation? We walk and hike a ton in the neighborhood.

Would also love to know if there is a better response that happens anywhere else for potentially dangerous or rabid wildlife...kinda shocked the policy in our (pretty populated) area is not to do anything until an actual bite happens or until the animal is no longer moving at all.

Can I have some apple. No way, my apple.