It was Thanksgiving morning and the Phoenix Mountain Preserve trail at 32^nd and Lincoln was crowded with regulars as well as out-of-towners enjoying our wonderful Arizona blue skies.

But then we heard the coyotes howling. Not mournful howling but urgent sounds of aggression. Then we heard a dog yelping and more sounds of scuffling.

And then silence.

And all the people who had dogs with them instinctively grabbed their leashes a little tighter because we all knew what had just happened. A dog had either been killed or hurt by a coyote pack. There is nothing like the silence that follows the sounds of coyotes attacking. It’s a silence that settles on the trail’s mountains and valleys and muffles the collective joy of being on the trail.

More importantly, it’s a reminder that when we go hiking, we are basically invading others’ territories. And it is incredibly irresponsible to let your dog off the leash in that situation. Your dog relies on you for your good judgment and letting them go off leash in coyote territory shows a shameful lack of common sense.

Sorry for going off on this but that sound of silence on the trail is still with me.