UPDATE: 09/09/2026 Ventura Wildlife posted photos and xray of Wendy the coyote. She had two pellets in her head. I also see overgrowth of bone and tissue in the photos and xray. Sometimes blunt force trauma, being shot can cause an overgrowth of bone and tissue. Injury can cause tumors. She definitely needed to be euthanized. Euthanising the day of capture would have been better.
https://www.facebook.com/wildlifecareofSoCal/posts/pfbid0BbGS6tzguaEZBrypz63L4o6jaUmi4HWXassZnKucogBzzbQJMoJUC89AKdwd4vUMl
Now the pitbull group is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to the arrest of person who shot the coyote. Might as well offer $1,000,000,000,000 because no one could ever claim it. Fish & Wildlife would need a video of the person doing it from start to finish along with a copy of their identification card, car, license plate before they'd even look into it. It'll never happen. Plus, the person could say it was self defense.
I remember one crazy rehabber who put dixie cups on seagulls heads. Then she offered a reward for info leading to the arrest of the person who put the dixie cups on their heads. It was her! Then she videotaped herself rescuing the seagull after she put the cup on its head. She said it couldn't eat or drink for weeks. It would have been dead. After she removed the cup it flew back to her looking perfectly healthy. So many lies and scams to try to get donations and media attention.
Someone just posted that they'll get a friend to turn them in for the reward. Then they'll admit to it, pay a $100 fine to Fish & Wildlife and collect the $10,000.
09/08/2026 Coyote saw the vet today, received xrays and was then euthanized. Allegedly she had an infection which caused the bones to be eaten away. She was also missing an eye. This is why we suggested the coyote see the veterinarian immediately. It looked like she'd just have to be euthanized. Why prolong the suffering. Donations.
To those who ask why she couldn't be allowed to live and just go to a sanctuary. The California Department of Fish & Wildlife only allows perfect looking specimens to be display animals. No gimp zoos. She could also not be released to the wild missing major parts of her jaw. That's the law. There is nothing anyone can do about those things. Had she stayed in the wild she would have slowly died on her own after losing the ability to eat and drink. Euthanasia was the only merciful option.
09/04/2026 Now the coyote won't get to the vet until Tuesday. No legitimate reason for the delay. They were called Ventura Wildlife because they are in Ventura. They are now called Wildlife Care of Southern California. I've known them for over 24 years. We're not close. We're a county away though I do refer animals to them. https://www.facebook.com/wildlifecareofSoCal
People asked what will they do since the coyote is now tame because people have been feeding her for a year. They said she'll be tame when she's healthy. If she is too tame and can't be released, she will go to a sanctuary. Sadly per Fish & Wildlife only perfect specimens can go to a sanctuary. This coyote will never be a perfect specimen. Fish & Wildlife will order it euthanized. It's right there in our permits. Plus, there aren't many coyote sanctuaries. Permits are difficult, expensive and Fish & Wildlife doesn't like wildlife in sanctuaries except maybe mountain lions. They don't approve new permits for sanctuary animals. Each animal must be individually approved. They have told this to me very plainly to my face a few times. Maybe they think they can use social media to force Fish & Wildlife to give her a sanctuary permit.
In the meantime the pitbull guy is raising funds for his organization. From today, "Between the satellite cameras, additional batteries, food, transportation, medications, veterinary testing and everything still ahead, saving her comes with a cost." So he didn't volunteer to rescue the coyote out of the goodness of his heart. He expected to be paid for equipment he will continue to own. He's asking for direct donations to Southern California Pitbull Rescue even though he's asking for veterinary testing, medication expenses which he didn't provide. https://www.facebook.com/socalpitties So far this is looking like a fundraising operation which I've seen all too often. I generally don't care if they truly help the animal. I really do hope there's nothing major wrong with the coyote but I highly doubt it.
09/02/2026 Ventura just posted an update. They have a vet appt for this Saturday. The photos they posted make it appear to be a growth. The nose and eye appear out of place. Bone tumors push facial features out of place. They are giving antibiotics which is probably treating any secondary infections. The coyote makes a sound like heavy breathing and nasal blockage when it breathes. One eye may be gone. If that's the case, rehabbers must euth the animal because it can't be released or kept in sanctuary. The regs state they need two eyes to be released. All sanctuary animals must look perfect. I have a feeling it would have been best to take the coyote to the vet first day. It had good weight so it could have gone under anesthesia. If it's a bone tumor, eye is missing, would be more merciful to euth instantly instead of dragging it out then euthanizing. We shall see. I hope I've proven wrong and it's just a massive infection.
I read last night that the pitbull rescuer is raising funds for the coyote because he said he spent a lot of money buying video cameras and equipment to catch her. He wants his money back. I really hope people are not using this animal just to make money. I've seen it so many times before when some rescuers keep an animal alive just to fundraise instead of doing what is most merciful for the animal. Mark Rulon of SCPR was asked on facebook why he's raising money for the coyote when he doesn't even have it. He replied "we've had numerous expenses involved in her capture. The 5 cameras and extra batteries we used weren't free. And there's other expenses too!" In all my years I have never charged to rescue an animal. We use our own equipment which I personally bought. We only asked for help with vet care when we actually go to the vet and get a vet bill. We don't fundraise before we get the animal like these groups have been doing. We never fundraise until we get a vet bill. It reminds me of those rescuers who rescue the most pathetic animal from the shelter and use it for fundraising. Some farm rescues do the same "rescuing" buying neglected animals from feed lots. Nothing surprises me anymore.
08/31/2026: Southern California Pitbull Rescue https://www.facebook.com/socalpitties was able to capture the coyote. They gave it to Ventura Wildlife. Hopefully they instantly took it to the vet for an exam and xrays.
UPDATE: Ventura Wildlife just gave the coyote antibiotics. Did it go to the vet for a diagnosis? If this is bone cancer, it should be euthanized to prevent suffering since it can't be cured, kept or released.
ORIGINAL: Many people have sent us the photos and videos of a coyote in Studio City with a growth on its face. We are full. We referred them to California Wildlife and Ventura Wildlife. It looks like a bone tumor on its face. If it were only infection, it'd probably be in worse condition.
Coyotes aren't easy to catch. They don't go into traps. We can't use humane snares. They aren't easy to lasso or net. You'd have to corral them into a garage or confined area in order to trap them when they can still walk. You generally can only pick them up when they can no longer walk anymore.
People are feeding the coyote. It's been seen for about a year in this condition. If it is a bone tumor, it will most likely be euthanized. We've taken in wildlife with bone tumors on the face. If you grind off the bone tumor, it will just regrow. They can't be released back to the wild. They can't be kept in sanctuary because they aren't physically perfect. That is the California Department of Fish & Game requirement for keeping wildlife in sanctuary, not ours.
Mary Cummins of
Animal Advocates is a
wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the
California Department of Fish and Game and the
USDA.
Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.
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