(AP) — A Shrewsbury family says it is devastated after a coyote snatched its pet dog from the backyard of the home.
   
Tracy Walnista tells The Boston Globe she had just let Katie, the family’s 11-year-old white Maltese, out on Tuesday night when the coyote came out of nowhere. Walnista says she screamed, trying to frighten the coyote away, but was horrified to see the animal pick up the 5-pound dog in its jaws and disappear. 
   
Katie hasn’t been seen since and Walnista says the family assumes the worst. She says her children are taking the loss especially hard.
  
Shrewsbury’s animal control officer, Leona Pease, says coyotes are common in the town but attacks on pets are rare.
   
Pease says owners should keep their dogs on leashes even in their own yards.