FRUITLAND PARK, Fla.-- A Lake County, Florida man says he did what he had to do to protect himself, his dog, and his Fruitland Park neighborhood when faced with an overly aggressive coyote.
The coyote was killed and his dog is getting frequent check-ups to make sure rabies is not an issue.
Ben Pool says he hears coyotes often, rarely sees them.
Things were different, however, on Friday.
"My dog and a coyote were standing face to face, fixing to go at it," Pool says.
Pool was able to get the two animals apart...then the coyote attacked him.
"He came at my legs, first, I smashed him in the side of the head with the cup. He came at me again, I smashed him again and then he jumped up at my face, when he did that I jumped back, smacked him in the side of the head, he screamed and he went down," Pool says.
Pool managed to get himself and his dog up the street and home, but says the coyote was relentless. Pool grabbed a gun and got in his truck.
"I was going to shoot it out the window because I didn't want to get out and fight it again and when I did it jumped up at the window of the truck. I rolled the window down, went three or four times at it, and finally I ran over it. No regret, none, (laugh) I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
Pool believes the coyote population will only get larger and he would like to see more support from state and local officials.
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