Dear Editor:
At least two pets have disappeared this week (week of Jan. 23) so far from the Brentwood Park area. These pets fell prey to the coyotes that roam the area on a regular basis after dark. The first pet was on Sunday night, and the second was today Tuesday.
I can't imagine how their families are feeling but I can tell you firsthand the screeching, howling etc. their pets did before the dead silence.
The blood curdling howling, barking and growling the coyotes commence as they go into a frenzy before killing their prey is a sound that doesn't leave your mind.
This isn't the first nor will it be the last time we hear it, as the coyotes seem to swarm under the trees at the south end of the park once one of them has caught prey. This has been going on for at least a year that we know of. Please print this so neighbours of Brentwood Park will keep their pets in after dark and prevent any more senseless deaths of animals by the coyotes.
As well, just a little over a year ago, shots were fired from the path in the park at the south end.
Casings were found next to the path, and one shot went into the basement bedroom of one of the homes on Southlawn. Thankfully, the resident of the bedroom was not home.
The shot went through the outside wall into the room and struck a stud, bouncing off and landing on the floor. A piece of casing was also found on the next-door neighbour's porch. RCMP attended the scene not once but numerous times that night and the next day, as well as an RCMP dog. For whatever reason the RCMP decided not to advise the public about the shooting.
We advised the RCMP several times that people walk through the park at all hours of the night as a shortcut, and shouldn't they be warned about the shooting? Apparently not, because we never heard or saw anything in the papers about it. The bottom line is, neither people nor pets should be in Brentwood Park after dark.
Mari-Anne Di Cesare, Burnaby