A Pennsylvania woman demonstrated extraordinary bravery when she faced down a coyote to protect her beloved pets, suffering horrific injuries in the process.
The Night of the Attack
Brandy Willard, 46, ventured outside her Claysville home on November 21 to check on her dogs when the unthinkable happened. As she attempted to coax her pets from hiding beneath her truck, a coyote suddenly charged at her.
The animal pinned her against the vehicle, leaving her with severe injuries across her face, arms, thighs and shins. "Okay, I'm getting killed," is what I was thinking,' Willard recalled to WPXI during her harrowing account of the attack.
A Desperate Struggle for Survival
Willard described fighting for her life against the wild predator. 'I had my hands like a pretzel trying to get it off of me,' she explained. 'I was on fire. It burned, my whole body just burnt.'
Remarkably, she believes that being pinned against her truck may have saved her life by preventing the coyote from taking her to the ground, where the outcome could have been far worse.
Emergency services rushed Willard to Canonsburg Hospital, where she received treatment for her extensive wounds. The attack has left her covered in scratches and facing an extensive course of rabies vaccinations.
Aftermath and Recovery
'They have to take this really thick needle and stick it inside your wound twice, one in your arm,' Willard described of her ongoing medical treatment. 'I got to go back in four more days, then seven days, then in 10 days and 14 days.'
While a warden from the Pennsylvania Game Commission couldn't definitively confirm whether the animal was a coyote, wild dog or another creature, Willard remains certain about what attacked her. 'I know what it was. I know what I saw,' she stated firmly. 'I know what kind of noise it made. You can't get that out of your head.'
Through it all, Willard expressed gratitude that both she and her dogs survived the terrifying ordeal. Her protective instincts kicked in immediately during the attack, with her primary concern being her pets' safety.
'I'm not going to let you eat my dog. It was just not going to happen,' she declared. 'I was going to get eaten first.'
Following the incident, Willard confirmed on Facebook that Game Wardens and the Fish and Wildlife Department returned to her property to verify it was indeed a coyote. However, she noted they informed her she couldn't kill the animals unless she was outside her home and in immediate danger.
