The Bourgoin’s dog, Piper, was attacked by several coyotes in West Hartford on Christmas Eve, and despite severe injuries is well on the path to recovery.

By Ronni Newton

Seven weeks after surviving a brutal attack by coyotes, Piper’s recovery seems miraculous – with her fur growing back, her wounds healing, and her feeding tube removed.

“We want to thank everybody, so many people across the state helped,” said Bruce Bourgoin, who lives on Garland Road in West Hartford with his wife, Maggie, two teenaged children, and Piper, their 4-year-old, 23-pound Cairn Terrier. More than 300 people donated just over $14,000 to date to a GoFundMe campaign to help pay Piper’s significant medical expenses, which included two surgeries.

Piper is a very lucky dog, and Bourgoin said even she seems to know she’s been given a second chance at life. “I’ve never had a dog before, but it honestly seems that Piper is grateful. Something’s different about her,” he said.

The horrific incident took place at about 6:30 p.m., on Christmas Eve. Piper was outside in the yard on their dead-end street, which is near Wood Pond.

A neighbor called to alert them to something going on, and Maggie opened the door to see what was happening. There were three coyotes across the street attacking Piper. One was very large, another also seemed to be an adult, and one was smaller, Bourgoin said.

Two of the coyotes took off when they started screaming, but one dragged Piper behind the house across the street. Bourgoin said he ran outside barefoot. Maggie still had her phone in her hand and used the flashlight. They followed the path of blood.

“We found her in the dark,” Bourgoin said.

They returned from the emergency vet at 3 a.m. on Christmas morning, leaving Piper in ICU. There were good news and bad news days, but the great news was the community support, Bourgoin said.

“In the beginning we were so sad, but she survived the attack,” he said.

“When we found her she was lifeless,” Maggie Bourgoin said.

“It was long, stressful, hard,” Bruce said, but they’ve now reached a major milestone. Late last week, Piper’s feeding tube was removed.

“She had injuries all over her, but most were just puncture wounds that needed stitches,” he said. Piper was in intensive care at Veterinary Specialists of Connecticut, but she wasn’t really able to eat or drink, and it soon became apparent that the most serious injury was to Piper’s esophagus.

“The puncture wounds on her neck went all the way through to her esophagus,” he said. Everything she tried to swallow went right into her neck.

Normally when a dog is given a feeding tube it’s through their throat, but that wasn’t possible due to the location of the injury, so the tube, which Bourgoin said was 13 or 14 inches long, had to be inserted directly into her stomach.

A few weeks after the incident Piper had to have the wound to her esophagus surgically repaired and she needed to continue to be fed through a tube until it healed. She’s still wearing the white t-shirt that was needed to hold the feeding tube in place and also covers the stitches.

“For three weeks, Maggie fed her through the tube,” Bruce said. While his wife did the feeding of the high-nutrient food, he held the dog. It was a team effort.

After a few weeks, Piper was allowed some liquids, and gradually progressed to soft food. “It was a happy moment for all of us,” he said, when Piper ate that first quarter-can of dog food.

Bruce said they initially hoped the wounds would heal on their own because they didn’t know how they could afford surgery, but the damage was too extensive. Their 15-year-old daughter, Scarlett, was the one who created the GoFundMe.

Maggie said if there was extra money left from the GoFundMe they planned to donate it to VCA Veterinary Specialists, but the bills have exceeded what was donated.

They do plan to do something special for at least one of the donors – a young girl who donated $7 from her babysitting money. “Her dad said she loves dogs and wanted to help,” Maggie said.

“The vet said they never see dogs that get attacked by coyotes. They never survive,” Maggie said.

“She’s a fighter. They could tell she was trying to fight them,” said Bruce.

One neighbor said she saw five coyotes in the neighborhood that night, he said. The Bourgoins have lived in their house for 18 years, and along with the coyotes they said they’ve been seeing a lot more bears than ever before.

“Generally speaking in the winter, coyotes can exhibit defensive behavior over food resources, which is why it is important to keep the area around your house and yard free of food attractants, keep your cats indoors, and keep your dog on a leash when walking closer to dawn and dusk when coyotes are often more active,” said Will Healy, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

The next few weeks remain a time to be extra cautious.

“Coyotes mate in late January into February, with den preparation and selection during March and actual denning and whelping of five to seven pups in April. Coyotes are known to become more aggressive around these core areas, which they vigorously defend against resident dogs while also exhibiting increasingly bold behavior around people,” said Healy. “Territorial coyotes may aggressively approach and threaten or attack dogs of all sizes, not just small dogs weighing less than 25 lbs. These denning coyotes are suspected to be the ones reported stalking dog walkers and, in rare cases, attacking leashed dogs or biting people trying to protect their dogs.”

Statistics regarding conflicts between coyotes and dogs in the state weren’t readily available, and not all conflicts are reported to DEEP, Healy said. Information and tips on preventing conflicts can be found on the following webpage: Living with Coyotes.

The Bourgoins hope that sharing the story of what happened to Piper will help other people be more aware of the danger.

Bruce said he’s now seen so many videos of coyotes walking up and picking up pets. He’s also learned of a device someone invented after their dog was attacked – a “coyote vest” that has spikes that are intended to visually deter predators. “We’re definitely going to look into getting one of those,” he said.

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