It was an ordinary Friday night that ended in horror for a household on Corinth Road. What began as a simple phone call on the back porch Aug. 25 ended moments later with the family’s 10-pound dog being snatched and taken away by what was likely a coyote. Their experience that night is one they hope others will avoid.

Four-year-old Mia, the family’s little bichon, had gone into the back yard with family member Michele Chafin. It was just before 11 p.m. Michele sat making a phone call while Mia answered a call of nature at the corner of the house a few feet away.

Suddenly, Mia began shrieking. Michele jumped and ran toward the sound. She ran screaming in the dark, across her side yard and into the front yard of her neighbors, Carol and Tom Lunsford. Michele kept screaming for Mia, even as the girl fell and got to her feet, chasing whatever had the little dog in its grasp. Michele could hardly see in the darkness.

It was only when the animal got close to the far side of the Lunsford’s yard that Michele could see it jump up to street level and run away.

With that brief sequence of events that took mere seconds, Mia was gone. Searches that night and the following days were to no avail. The little dog was gone without a trace.

“You never really know how attached you are to a pet. You think of protecting your children,” said family member Monica Polo, whose 6-year-old daughter Corrine had grown up with Mia and who called the little dog her own. “You think of general responsibilities like feeding them or taking them to the vet. But you don’t realize the impact they have on your day to day life until something happens. Every day I have to deal with the grief.”

Michele has lived in the same house for 14 years. During that time she has seen her share of wildlife, but never a predator capable of unleashing such havoc.

“I think people need to be more aware and more watchful and know what’s going on. In all the years I’ve been here, I’ve seen foxes, I’ve seen deer, rabbits and raccoons,” Michele said. “My fear is that it could be a young child outside or a cat or dog. I want people to be aware because with something bold enough to come in your yard while you are there and snatch something — well, people need to be aware.”

Monica and Michele remarked about the number of signs posted in the area, signs for missing animals. Though no one can know for certain, it is likely that Mia was snatched by a coyote, according to wildlife biologist Dennis Chase and Fayette County Animal Control Director Miguel Abi-Hassan.

And though very large cats are occasionally reported in Fayette, the most likely candidate, by far, is a coyote. Its range is virtually unlimited in rural and metro areas, including Atlanta. Its close proximity to humans and the tendency of some pet owners to leave food outside only serves to increase the bold behavior, experts say.

“In addition to the loss of our beloved pet, my main concern is that the neighbors of the surrounding areas will have a heightened awareness so that this doesn’t happen again, so that they can protect themselves, their little animals, their children,” Monica said. “This is a very harrowing thing to go through and it’s something that can be avoided.”

With that heightened awareness comes the recognition of noises that previously would have gone unacknowledged. Today, Monica notices those noises. A cat screeching in the distance, dogs barking fiercely, an abrupt end to the shriek of an animal such as the plight experienced by Mia.

“It terrifies me. I just pack it in and come back in the house. Nothing anymore is benign or trivial. I’m not really comfortable sitting outside anymore,” Monica explained.

For Michele, what began as an ordinary trip to the back yard was quickly transformed into the surreal landscape of a personal nightmare.

“It’s very painful. It was just a routine night. I’m still in shock and despondent. I have no explanation and that’s what really gets me. There’s no trace of hair, no blood, no tracks,” Michele said with tears in her eyes. “I keep looking in the direction where she was taken. I keep thinking she’s going to come home. But as the hours and days go by, it’s more likely she won’t.”