Emmett cringed at his own placatory laughter. “Right.”
He thanked Rick again and backed out of the room.
He was still half in shock as he returned to the sales floor, his emotions a jumble. It couldn’t have been better news, but the timing was all wrong. His first couple of years on the job, Emmett had run himself ragged trying to prove himself and earn a promotion. All this should have happened then.
But Rick was right. Emmett had earned it, even if the reward was a few years delayed. If people were only beginning to notice his good work now because of how he looked—well, that was the whole point of losing weight, wasn’t it?
He had every right to feel happy. Finally, people were starting to see the real him.
Appendix N—Online News Article
Coyote attack sparks fears of species’ increasing threat
July 27, 2023 / 3:21 PM PT
LA JOLLA – A woman was admitted to the hospital for serious injuries after being attacked by a coyote at La Jolla Heights Natural Park.
Ilana Shamritsky, 56, says she was walking the park trails alone around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday when the animal ran out of the brush.
“First two things I noticed were: it was big and it was angry,” Shamritsky toldThe San Diego Union-Tribune. “I’ve seen coyotes before, but never as big as that. It wasn’t even scared. It was just standing there. Growling, you know, showing me its teeth. Foaming at the mouth. I think it was rabid.”
Shamritsky said she backed away and threw her water bottle, trying to frighten the animal.
“Rocks too, twigs, whatever I could grab. But it just kept coming toward me. I panicked.”
Shamritsky says she turned and ran, and that’s when the animal attacked.
“It bit the back of my ankle, pulled my leg out from under me. I fell forward, and the pain—it was tearing its head back and forth like a dog with a toy. I thought it was going to rip my leg off. I kicked it off and rolled onto my back, and then it was on top of me, trying to tear a chunk out of my neck. It was like it was possessed by a demon.”
According to a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, wild coyotes typically present little threat to people.
“The only time you see a coyote attack a grown adult, typically, is a mother protecting its pups,” the spokesperson said. “Sometimes there’s a litter nearby you’re not aware of, especially now during pupping season.”
Shamritsky wasn’t convinced the animal was acting defensively.
“It wasn’t trying to scare me off,” she said. “This thing was trying to eat me.”
The coyote ran off after another hiker, hearing Shamritsky’s screams, came running and scared the animal off with a fallen branch.
San Diego police, paramedics, and field biologists from California Fish and Wildlife were called to the scene. Shamritsky was transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital and treated for bites, lacerations, and two missing fingers. The digits were recovered from the scene but could not be reattached.
Within an hour of the attack, California Fish and Wildlife managed to trap a coyote in the vicinity of the park.
“Whether it’s the exact same one, we can’t say for sure,” said Zachary Ponti, one of the biologists. “But this animal was definitely demonstrating an unusual level of aggression.”
Ponti confirmed there was “a good amount of blood” on the animal’s fur.
The attack is one of several recent encounters with wild coyotes, which many believe are becoming more frequent.
“We’ve always had coyotes around here,” said Clairemont resident Frank Harmon. “But out in the canyon, at 10:30 at night or first thing in the morning. Now you see them walking down the street in the middle of the day. My neighbors got security camera footage of one of the suckers jumping their back fence and attacking their pit bull. A pit bull! These things aren’t afraid of anything.”
“It was never like this before,” said Sorrento Valley resident Cora McDonald. “Used to be you had to watch out for coyotes if you had cats or small dogs. Now they’re attacking people in broad daylight. It’s scary. I’m scared.”
According to Ponti, California Fish and Wildlife has seen an uptick in the number of reported sightings since May. He and his colleagues aren’t sure why.
The department’s advice to residents who encounter coyotes: “Make yourself big and loud. Wave your arms, shout, make a ruckus. Scare them off.”
And if all else fails? “Run.”
