Owners, vet think coyotes killed dog in back yard When Candelario and Jessica Gabaldon adopted Sophie, a small and friendly corgi, three years ago from a Florida rescue shelter, they saved her life. But last week, the couple couldn't save her from what they and their veterinarian believe was a pack of coyotes. The Gabaldons, who live on Amistad Drive just off Sichler Road, had just returned home from dinner last Wednesday evening when they realized that 8-year-old Sophie, who was in their backyard with her playmate, a young boxer, had been brutally attacked. "She was in mad pain," Candelario said. "Her right front leg was almost ripped right off. You could see muscles and tendons and bone." "The best way I could describe it was someone ripping off the drumstick of a turkey on Thanksgiving," Jessica said. "We just couldn't believe it." Van Otten said that, as he began to shave the dog for surgery, he found many more puncture wounds and actual tears on the animal's neck and back. He found that the dog's other leg had also sustained considerable damage. The ligaments holding the animal's elbow together were displaced and a bone was broken.Van Otten said, from what he observed of Sophie's wounds, it looked as if she was pulled apart from each limb. He said he felt that her injuries were beyond his capabilities to repair and he suggested that the Gabaldons put their beloved corgi to sleep. They agreed. "Based on the teeth marks I saw, I do suspect coyotes, but I can't be 100 percent certain," Van Otten said. "I've never seen an arm torn off like that. These corgis don't back down; they're tenacious little dogs." Van Otten, whose office is down the road from where the Gabaldons live, said he has seen coyotes in the area as recently as a month ago....