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A coyote or possibly a wild dog could be responsible for the death of five pygmy goats south of the area where people’s pets have been snatched by coyotes, officials say.

Patricia Evans called Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Wednesday to report the deaths, she said.

A friend went about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday to check on the goats in a fenced 100 foot by 100 foot lot near Melaine and Strike Lanes in Bonita Springs, Evans said Friday.

“He noticed a puncture wound on his (a goat’s) neck and immediately thought he had been shot,” she said.

Evans went to the lot to check on the goats.

“When I got there, I couldn’t hear the others,” she said. “I was worried. I went in, I have den in middle of lot, and they were all slaughtered.”

The biggest goat weighed 33 pounds and the smallest about 12 pounds. She had recently purchased them to have as a hobby.

When deputies arrived on the scene, they called Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers, said John Sheehan, a Lee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

The deputy, Sheehan said, reported something had dug under the fence enclosing the goats.

Breanne Strepina, an FWC biologist, said it’s “most probable coyotes” that attacked the goats, but could not rule out based on information provided that the attack was caused by wild dogs or even someone’s pet who had been let loose for the night.

The area where the goats died is south of Coconut Road, east of U.S. 41 and west of Interstate 75. Since March 6, three small breed dogs have been killed and three injured in the Brooks, Lakes of Estero and Rapallo areas. One man had to receive rabies booster shots due to exposure to saliva from his dead dog’s body and a woman is undergoing rabies shots after being bitten by a coyote while saving her dog.

Officials warn people to stay aware of their surroundings, carry a stick or pepper spray and noisemakers to frighten the coyotes. Also, never go to the ground, but “puff up” like many animals do when they encounter a critter larger than them, Strepina said. Coyotes exist in all 67 Florida counties, and have been seen in downtown Miami and Tampa.

E-mail Valli Finney at vallimfinney@yahoo.com