Things that go yelp in the night

Last night I was sitting on the couch watching the film Up In The Air, when something very down to Earth hit me.  In a way, I am glad I wasn't watching An American Werewolf in London.  If I had been I might have shit myself.  There is a scene at the beginning when two friends are walking across the moors on a foggy night somewhere in the English countryside.  There is a howl, then a growl and well, you can imagine what comes next.

The movie was playing and I found myself completely enraptured by George Clooney's characterization of a solitary man living a solitary life when I heard this sound like a creature being eaten alive.  It was one of the most horrific noises I have ever heard.  The screech was bone chilling as it called out through the night. I looked around and remembered my Corgi mutt Hillary was outside.  I had this image of her being torn limb for limb and I stood with terror in my heart as I looked out into the dark abyss.   There is a forest behind my house, and panic filled me as I thought she might have slipped through a loose post on the deck and ventured back into the wilderness.  Okay, wilderness is a bit of a stretch, it is really a couple hundred acres of wooded land between two subdivisions with a creek running through it.  That said, it is filled with life.  Deers move through as do rabbits, turtles, raccoons and opossums.

I had to do something as the wailing and the screeching continued, but I was terrified what I might find at the other end.  Without a flashlight I ventured out into the darkness calling my dog's name.  "Hillary, Hillary."  It was a call filled with panic knowing full well she always ignored me if I was not bearing a dog biscuit.  I crossed the lawn and started down a back deck that rings the edge of my property like a nature trail and looks out into the dark woods.  "Hillary... Hillary."  I called, the concern becoming more apparent with each word.

In the night came the sound of an angry mob fighting for the scraps of a carcass.  Dozens of voices echoing in the darkness like jackals in the African Serengeti.  Finally in the darkness I saw the phosphorescence of her eyes moving toward me.  I wondered if she was possessed.  A ghost perhaps or a demon in the night.
No, it was just Hillary.  With her tail wagging she looked at me calmly expecting a dog biscuit.  My heart was racing as the voices of the night continued.  "Hillary," I called, "what the hell is that?" I asked, half expecting an answer.  Hillary bounded across the grass, up some steps and into my kitchen none the worse for wear.

With my mind calm and my fingers relaxed I consulted the source of all knowledge for an answer to my question, "what the hell was that?"  Wikipedia soon provided the answer.  It is an oracle of wisdom and some not so wise.  Apparently late January through the end of March is the mating season for the coyote.  Who knew?  I guess I have coyote's living around me.  All I can think is they must have been having a hell of an orgy back there.  I just thought coyote's hung around with Roadrunners trying to blow them up with dynamite from the ACME company.  Apparently there is now a new critter to add to the list of things that go yelp in the night.