{"id":320738,"date":"2026-06-26T15:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T15:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/320738\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T15:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T15:45:09","slug":"cape-firefighters-pull-coyote-pup-from-canal-with-help-sanibel-captiva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/320738\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape firefighters pull coyote pup from canal with help – SANIBEL-CAPTIVA"},"content":{"rendered":"


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CAPE CORAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
\nCape Coral Fire Department firefighter Luke Endsley rescued a coyote pup from a canal. Residents teamed up to help direct the weeks-old animal to a spot where it could be captured.<\/p>\n

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CAPE CORAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
\nCape Coral Fire Department firefighter Luke Endsley rescues the coyote pup from the water.<\/p>\n

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CAPE CORAL FIRE DEPARTMENT
\nCape Coral firefighter Alex Poches presents a Community Recognition Coin to resident Denae Judd, who hopped in her kayak and guided the coyote toward a dock where Cape Coral Fire Department firefighters could capture it.<\/p>\n

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Cape Coral firefighters thought they were performing an ordinary rescue unique to the community: Pulling a pooch from a neighborhood canal.<\/p>\n

Turns out the recovery wasn\u2019t exactly routine \u2014 the \u201cdog\u201d turned out to be a coyote pup.<\/p>\n

In the early morning hours on June 22, Cape Coral Fire Department (CCFD) firefighters pulled a 12-week-old coyote from a canal in Britannia Lake.<\/p>\n

Thanks to a phone call to CCFD and good Samaritans who helped lead the pup to shore, the coyote is now in the care of the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) on Sanibel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis save was a great team effort,\u201d CCFD officials stated on a social media post.<\/p>\n

CCFD Engine 9 and Rescue 9 responded to the call of what was first reported as a K-9 in the waters. The caller, only identified as Brian, made the 911 call and even jumped into the lake in an attempt to help the pup.<\/p>\n

Also on scene was Denae Judd. She heard a commotion before 8 a.m. at her home that\u2019s on the lake, hopped in her kayak and guided the coyote toward a dock.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard someone yelling from across the lake, and then a few minutes later, we saw somebody running through the backyards so we went outside to see what was going on and saw an animal in the lake and people were talking about it being a dog,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n

Judd said by the time the fire department got there, the pup kept swimming across the lake.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time somebody tried to get close to where (the coyote) could swim to land, it kept swimming away again,\u201d she said. \u201cWe had kayaks stored at a property down the street, so we jumped in the car and got kayaks and came back because nobody had any flotation device or a way to get out to the lake. The animal clearly couldn\u2019t find land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judd paddled out and as she got closer to the animal, discovered it wasn\u2019t a dog, that it was in fact a coyote.<\/p>\n

Not wanting to get too close, she noticed the closer she got, the more scared the pup became and swam away. She decided if she could direct it to land, there would be a good chance of being able to get it out of the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just didn\u2019t want it to drown,\u201d Judd said. \u201cIt looked like it had been in the water for a long time at that point, so that was my initial worry. I was really concerned about seeing that happen. Before I got in the water, it kept going in circles, it was disoriented. I thought if I could get it going in the right direction and get it close to land, it would work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, the pup made it under a dock and latched onto the bracing and hid under the decking.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t easy getting the coyote out from under the dock, she said, as rescuers tried and tried to coax it out. The coyote was able to fit itself in a tight spot to where firefighters weren\u2019t able to get eyes on it at first, but Judd assured them it was under the dock.<\/p>\n

CCFD dropped a ladder in the water and eventually were able to free the pup and get it out of the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe firefighters did a great job,\u201d she said. \u201cThey all worked in tandem with each other. Pool guys were there and offered equipment from their truck. It really was an effort from everybody involved to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Judd\u2019s assistance with this unique situation, firefighters presented her with a Community Recognition Coin, as well as Brian.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was pretty cool, I wasn\u2019t expecting that,\u201d she said of the coin. \u201cI just got into a kayak and guided things and watched it, but they\u2019re the ones who did all the work to get it out. We were just thinking we have to do what we have to do to get it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judd said the incident is something that wouldn\u2019t happen many other places.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just kind of Florida life I guess,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of stuff you don\u2019t see up north. It\u2019s not every day that you wake up, jump into a lake and help get a coyote out.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an email on June 25, CROW Communications Manager Meredith Darnell said the coyote pup was brought in emaciated and that, \u201cHe is undergoing assessments while under critical care.\u201d<\/p>\n


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