Apache Junction dog attacked by coyote, security cameras reveal

A dog is lucky to be alive after being attacked by a coyote in Apache Junction - and the security cameras were rolling during the incident. FOX 10's Desiree Fluellen reports.

APACHE JUNCTION - An Apache Junction homeowner is grateful his dog is alive after a brutal coyote attack, and security cameras caught the moments just before and after the mauling.

Zeus, a 17-pound chihuahua-pug mix, was attacked earlier this week and somehow managed to survive the encounter.

Surveillance video showed the coyote being shown entering the yard and running across the driveway.

"He had puncture wounds, bleeding everywhere," said owner Bob Stewart. "Saw a coyote on the front gate, started piecing together all the other cameras and kind of saw what happened."

Zeus lives in Apache Junction with his owners and his furry sister Siri.

Zeus

"You definitely have to watch your small dogs," Stewart said. "You can hear the coyotes every night going back and forth in these yards killing other people's dogs. You can hear it, it's horrible. Very sad."

The Stewarts' yard is surrounded by 6-foot high walls, so he thought his dogs would be okay.

"We thought he was safe inside these walls," Stewart said. "But he wasn't."

Zeus fought his way free from the coyote. He's hurt, but he'll recover.

"Zeus has a ruptured left eardrum in his left hear, he has emphysema from bite marks that left air in his throat - got a lot of bite marks," the owner said.

From here on out, it's all eyes on Zeus and Siri.

"When we come out, we don't just let him run around," Stewart said. "We always watch him."