North Vancouver man speaks out after dogs attacked by pack of coyotes on popular hiking trail

A North Vancouver man says his dogs were attacked by a pack of coyotes in the Lynn Headwaters area this week.

Elliot Marsh was jogging with his two husky crosses, Kaia and Quinn Wednesday morning when things took a drastic turn. 

Marsh says while trekking through the Seymour Demonstration Forest, his dogs ventured off behind an embankment.

“Obviously something drew their attention that way,” he told CTV News.

Marsh says he stopped running after hearing some unusual sounds.

"The only reason I got concerned was that the sounds that came from the other side of the embankment were not dogs having a good time.”

"Almost like a dog brawl,” Marsh said.

Marsh said Quinn, the bigger of the two dogs then emerged from the bushes being tailed by two coyotes. Marsh was able to scare them off, but Kaia was nowhere to be found.

"Not a great head space to be in to think of you know, this maybe being a bit of a body retrieval,” Marsh said.

Shortly after, they heard Kaia, who had a bear bell on her collar.

“She was further down into some of the brush.”

“As luck had it, she was also being chased by a group of coyotes,” said Marsh.

“She had a bit of a gash on her ear, there was some blood on the neck region,” he continued.

Marsh says he was able to scare the coyotes off with a stick he had picked up earlier.

"I got involved, got my dog out of there, had to use the branch to ensure that we got out safely.”

Marsh says Kaia was left with a gash on her ear that required stitches, while Quinn escaped mostly unharmed.

The Metro Vancouver Regional District says this issue is becoming more common in the area recently.

“Metro Vancouver is aware of recent incidents around Lynn Headwaters Regional Park and Rice Lake involving coyotes displaying defensive behaviour toward off-leash dogs, as there are coyote mothers with young pups in the area,” it said in a statement.

“The Lynn Headwaters Connector Trail is an on-leash trail until further notice. Please keep all dogs on leash in the area and note that dogs are not permitted on the Rice Lake Loop Trail. Signs have been posted and staff have been educating public about the active coyote season.”

Marsh, a North Vancouver local, says it won’t deter him and his fiancée from taking the dogs into the backcountry again.

Calling it a learning experience for him, and hopefully others.

"Going out prepared and at least with the mindset that you could have an encounter, and having the knowledge of what to do with that encounter,” he said.

“I think as a community we need to do a better job of reporting things through the correct avenues.”

MVRD is encouraging people to file any wildlife incident reports with the Conservation Officer Service R.A.P.P. line at 1-877-952-7277 and notify Metro Vancouver staff at 604-224-5739 or the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve at 778-452-4583.