The warning comes after a family was victimized by a pack of coyotes.
They attacked three Chihuahua terriers, killing one of them in the family's backyard.
"She was lifeless, clearly they had broken her neck," said Kristin Porteus, the dog's owner.
Kristin Porteus is horrified by what happened to her 3-year-old dog, Roxy, just out in her own backyard in Mt. Kisco on Friday morning with her two little pups.
The puppies had just enough time to escape, when suddenly, three coyotes ran out from behind a shed, and Roxy, their mom, had no time to run.
"She was a tiny dog with a huge heart full of love. She filled the house, you know, she might have been kind of loud, but now it's very quiet," Porteus said.
For Kristin's three young children, losing a dog is hard enough, but now, it's coupled with the fear of coyote's returning.
It's been a problem in the past in Westchester County in Chappaqua more recently, but also, several years ago, in both Rye and Rye Brook, where children were attacked.
"It's heartbreaking, if you think about it, it's a summer day and you're out there in the morning, sort of alarming," said Anthony Rodriguez, a Mount Kisco resident.
Kristin also tells Eyewitness News the nightmare didn't end here on Friday, that she heard another animal being attacked in her neighborhood, just two nights later.
"And that animal suffered. I cried, and I put the windows down, but there was nothing I could do to flush out that sound," Porteus said.
Authorities warn residents to keep a close eye on their backyards and any unusual movements or droppings that don't look like they come from your household pets.
The family was able to give Roxy a proper burial, at least, but because it's not the first coyote attack.
The concern is that it won't be the last.
