CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Three of four rescued coyotes that a Tinley Park woman had been raising until they were seized by the government said she was devastated to learn three were dead on the eve of a court hearing at which she hoped to get them back.
Tomi Tranchita stood in the enclosure where she kept the coyotes on her property and said she was in shock. Three weeks ago, she said, the four coyotes were healthy and happy. Then the DNR and Cook County Animal Control came and seized them, shooting three with a tranquillizer gun.
On Wednesday, she learned three are dead.
“I’m in shock right now,” she said this morning. “They lived here for 13 years, healthy, happy.”
The DNR said the coyotes had canine distemper. Tranchita doesn’t believe that. She said they did not have any of the symptoms.
“They did this, they caused this, it was unnecessary. The animals were healthy when they were here," she said.
Two of the animals were 13, the third was 10 and the fourth was 4. She said she bottle fed the first two after they were given to a rescue organization by someone who thought they were puppies.
She has a court date Friday, during which she had hoped to get a ruling that would return the animals to her care. She still hopes to get the remaining one back and said the DNR and the county should be held responsible.
“It’s devastating to receive this blow less than 48 hours before our court appearance. It’s just a cruel, harsh, It’s awful. I can’t even express in words how I feel about this now," Tranchita said.