Dolores Jefferson: Elderly Woman Defines Bravery By Saving Neighbor’s Dog From Five Coyotes

Dolores Jefferson is not your average 84-year-old woman. In fact, Dolores Jefferson isn’t your average anybody, judging by how she faced off with a wild pack of coyotes that were all set to make a snack of her neighbor’s dog.

According to People Magazine, Dolores Jefferson arrived on scene to find one of the coyotes had her neighbor’s dog, Roxie, in its jaws by the head.

“He was huge!” Jefferson told NBC Chicago. “He was as big as any German Shepherd I’ve ever seen. He turned around, looked at me, and Roxie got farther away from him.”

But how did Dolores Jefferson get the coyote to drop Roxie and save the dog’s life?

The event started off on a recent and otherwise calm, gentle July 11 morning in Bensenville, Illinois. Dolores was drinking her coffee and starting off the day when a loud ruckus behind her home gave her pause (no pun intended), and she went to investigate.

Stepping out into her back yard, Jefferson was shocked to see neighbor-dog Roxie, an Egyptian Pharoah Hound, fighting for her life and surrounded by five coyotes.

Experiences like Dolores Jefferson’s are all too common as the resilient coyote continues to grow and thrive among humans in very suburban environments throughout the U.S., such as Fountain Valley, California, where the video footage below was captured.

The setting: Fountain Valley is a suburban community near the coast in Orange County, California, with nice parks and residences, but far from anything one would call a wilderness area. But much like Dolores Jackson and Roxie experienced, in the wild or not, these coyotes mean to make a meal of domestic pets, are very capable of doing so, and more often than not are successful. Fortunately for this little Fountain Valley dog (SPOILER ALERT), she reportedly did survive, though some of the humans saving her absorbed some coyote punishment:

But back to Dolores Jefferson – How did she scare the coyotes away?

“All I could remember, my son told me to yell, make a lot of noise if you see one, and that’s what I did!”

Well done, Ms. Dolores Jackson! A true neighborhood hero that sent a wild pack of coyotes skulking off to find some other neighborhood to hunt.

Neighbor-dog Roxie was reportedly checked out by a vet, and by all reports is expected to make a full recovery.

Roxie’s owner, Rich Parent, couldn’t thank his neighbor Dolores Jackson enough, and in case she sees any other coyotes in the future, he bought her a bullhorn.

“Here’s this lady pushing 85 years old, and she’s my hero,” said Parent.

Image via Chicagonow.com, video via Youtube