DALLAS, Texas — The mother of Landon "Knox" Thomas spoke briefly with WFAA over the phone Monday, detailing the moments leading up to the 2-year-old being attacked by a coyote in the White Rock area last week.
The conversation happened on the same day that Dallas Animal Services revealed it had received 13 calls regarding coyotes, some involving aggressive coyotes, from February to the day little Knox was attacked.
The agency's director, MeLissa Webber, told WFAA there should have been an educational community meeting held over the past weeks.
"I don't think we could have prevented the attack, but I do think we missed an opportunity to educate people," Webber said.
Knox's mother, Genna Thomas, told WFAA that her son is doing well and is recuperating at home, expecting to recover following the attack.
"He's acting like himself, but he certainly doesn't look like himself," Thomas said.
Knox suffered lacerations to his head and neck, received a fracture to his jaw, and had bruises and scratches after being dragged down his front porch steps by the coyote.
Thomas said that she, Knox and her 5-year-old were getting ready to leave the house that morning when the attack happened.
She said she was in the house when the front door to her home beeped due to someone opening it.
"I heard the beeping, and within seconds my 5-year-old is rushing in yelling for help," Thomas said.
Thomas said she came rushing to see what happened and saw the coyote's mouth around little Knox's head.
"The door opened at 8:15 a.m., and I was on the phone with 911 at 8:17 a.m. -- it happened so fast, within minutes," Thomas said.
Dallas Animal Services has killed four coyotes in the area since the attack.
Three have tested negative for rabies, and a test for the fourth has yet to come back.
Alongside council member Adam McGough and the USDA Wildlife Services, Webber detailed every coyote call made from February to the day Knox was attacked Monday night at White Rock Elementary.
At least four calls included aggressive coyote behavior, including a coyote stalking kids as they walked to school.
A few calls included coyote sightings on school grounds, to which DAS worked with school officials to create a hazing plan to keep any coyotes away.
Webber did underscore that it was difficult to reach some of the callers reporting aggressive coyotes -- that information about the callers or callback info wasn't available.
Webber also added that it was inconclusive whether any community members were petting coyotes as they approached, which was widely reported last week by multiple media outlets.
However, she confirmed that there was proof of unintentional and intentional feeding by neighbors.
The city now has a coyote management plan, and DAS is working alongside its federal USDA partners to monitor coyote behavior and activity in the White Rock area.
McGough said at the meeting that the City of Dallas has never had a coyote management plan before, which includes a new hotline for anyone to call if they spot an aggressive coyote: 469-676-9813.