DERRY — Just before dusk on Saturday evening, Pamela Crawford let her miniature pinschers, Spike and Spanky, out for the last time that day.

“I don't let my dogs out after dark,” she said. “I was out on the back step and my husband spotted a coyote.”

The coyote was coming from the opposite side of the house, and the Crawfords spotted something in the animal's mouth, possibly a rabbit or a groundhog.

The two dogs headed to the back of a barn, where the coyote attacked the two pets. Crawford heard a commotion and saw her injured dogs.

Spanky, who was 10, made it several steps before collapsing and dying. Spike, 13, made it through the attack with two puncture wounds on its back, but is recovering.

Crawford said she was running toward the dogs and the coyote but her husband yelled at her to get out of the way so he could get a shot at the coyote with his gun, but she said the wild animal didn't stay in his sights long enough.

Crawford said she has seen a fox go through the yard before but said she has never had a problem with foxes or coyotes in the night.

A New Hampshire Fish and Game official who came to the Crawford's house said the animal that attacked their dogs was probably one of the bigger ones in the area.

“It could have been 45 to 50 pounds,” said Crawford. “The official said they live in the area in dens, so it was probably not the only one living out there.”

Fish and Game wildlife biologist Patrick Tate said there has not necessarily been an increase in coyote attacks or population in recent years.

“People are speaking out more when there is an experience with an Eastern coyote or a negative interaction with pets,” said Tate. “The coyote population has been relatively consistent over the last 17 years. Some years there are more than others because of the natural up and down of the population, but there certainly has been no explosion.”

Tate said pet owners should not leave their animals outside unattended. Oftentimes, he said, it is the coyotes that retaliate when the pets go after the wild animals.

Crawford, who was outside when her dogs were attacked, said she will be taking extra precautions to make sure a similar incident doesn't happen again. While the Crawfords have had an invisible fence on their property for years to keep their dogs in, they will soon be installing a physical fence to make sure nothing gets in.

“I'm just trying to let animal people know what is out there,” said Crawford. “I was watching my pets and I was right outdoors with them, but there was nothing I could do because it happened in a split second.”

aswift@newstote.com