HAMPTON, Va. — It's no secret who the favorite parent was.
"It was Clint," Jean Thornton laughed. "He would look at me sometimes like, 'Okay, I hear you, but I'm not doing what you say' and look over at Clint to take commands from him."
In 2011, Clint Thornton and Jean brought in Omega, a 10-pound ball of energy, to their home. After owning several German Shepherds, the small lap dog was a change of pace, but Clint loved him all the same.
"Omega was home," Clint said.
This week, he came outside to what would end up being his last time seeing Omega.
“I noticed as the light hit him, there was rustling in the brush, and I saw the damage done," he said.
Clint found his dog attacked and badly wounded in his backyard. After looking at the condition of Omega, Clint suspects a wild coyote jumped over the backyard fence of his Michael's Woods home in Hampton and got to his dog.
"Sometimes I'll go through the house and wonder where’s Omega and it dawns on me," Clint cried. "He’s no longer here. It’s going to take a little while.”
An uptick in coyote sightings were reported in the City of Hampton as recently as 2018. Animal control officials then said they've received about 15 coyote sightings annually, and while the exact number of them is not known in the area, it's estimated to be in the hundreds.
Clint, looking through old photos of Omega, said that he's continued to see more wild animals in the creek behind his home, close to Sandy Bottom Nature Park. He shared his loss with 13News Now to remind pet owners of their presence in the local community and remind them what's at stake.
"I've seen a fox, a coyote...but all these years none of the have ever come into my yard none of them.”