Starving coyote pup tortured, found bound in Santa Maria alley

A wildlife sanctuary in Solvang is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to a suspect who tied up a coyote pup, tortured it and left it for dead in an alley.

The coyote’s limbs were tied with electrical wire when it was discovered Thursday in the alley in Santa Maria.

The six-pound pup was starving, dehydrated, had a broken jaw and a wound on its neck from an apparent choke hold, according to the Animal Rescue Team’s Facebook page.

“Why would anybody want to do this to an innocent animal that is trying to survive in a cruel world during the worst drought?” said Julia Di Sieno, one of the sanctuary’s founders. “I have a difficult time comprehending that.”

The pup was rushed to the Solvang Veternary Hospital, where a doctor removed maggots from the pup’s wounds and treated its injuries.

Bone, however, is still protuding from the pup’s jaw while veternarians try to determine the best treatment for it as it slowly recovers.

Officials believe someone may have used the two prongs on the wire to inflict injures to the pup’s neck.

Di Sieno said the coyote, which may have been orphaned, has gained two pounds since it was rescued.

The animal sanctuary said that it has received an “overwhelming amount of support” from the community and throughout the state.

Donations were made to the sanctuary to help fund the pup’s medical bills, they said.

Animal control officials in Santa Maria are investigating the incident.

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