Farmer finds and rescues helpless "puppy" covered in ticks, then quickly discovers it's not the kind you want in your house: ‘You don’t want to raise a coyote’

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Aug 12, 2026 12:15 PM EDT

Not all puppies are meant to be raised by humans, but wouldn't it be magical if they were?

It's second nature for us to stop and help an animal in need. We can't help it. That's how we adopted one of our dogs. We were at a gas station, and as we were exiting, we saw a lonely, scraggly puppy sitting next to the dumpster. No mom around, just all alone, looking sad and pitiful. After asking the gas station clerk (who had no idea she was even there), we decided to take her with us. A few hours and a vet appointment later, she was officially our little girl. She's now 3 years old and I can't imagine my life without her.

But, not all puppies are meant to be taken home. We like to call them "spicy puppies", and you don't come across them very often, but when you do, you should always engage with them as little as possible, or call animal control if necessary. That's exactly what happened to the farmer below. While on a walk with his wolf-dogs, he noticed a scared "puppy". He caught the little baby and noticed that they were covered in ticks, which can be fatal to any mammal if left untreated. But there was something else he noticed - this puppy was not an ordinary puppy. Either a wolf-coyote pup or a coyote-dog mix, the "puppy" probably wandered off from its den while mom was out hunting. He removed the ticks from them and sent them back on their merry way. Good job, human!

We feel like it should be obvious, but we'll put it here anyway: never attempt to raise a wild animal, no matter how cute and fluffy it is. I know how tempting it can be, but you're putting yourself in harm's way unnecessarily and you're trying to domesticate an animal that is not built for it. If you want a puppy that badly, go down to your local shelter and adopt one from there - I'm sure that there are plenty of puppies that would love to be in your life.

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via themikeyme1
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via an_actual_coyote
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via Kaylin Pacheco

Wild coyote sunbathing in the forest
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This is such a hilarious way of looking at it, and also completely accurate. A random giant, nearly bald monkey just picked them up, removed all the itchy, annoying ticks, and let them go. Not that I have ticks, but I wouldn't mind a semi-omnipotent creature taking me and fixing most of my health problems, then letting me get back to my life. Sounds terrifying, yet satisfying.
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Coyote pup howling in nature
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Check out this mystery coyote/red wolf mix I saw the same day

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