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A coyote standing motionless near a busy Cary intersection worried a passerby enough to call Animal Services. There was a good reason it wasn’t moving.
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It wasn’t real.
The Cary mix-up wasn’t unique. Other Triangle residents told The News & Observer they have turned cars around, tried to rescue animals and even called a school after mistaking decoys meant to scare geese for real dogs or coyotes.
The call came in at 11:26 a.m. Sept. 4. The caller also sent Animal Services a photo.
Officers Kristy Moore and Beth Wilson responded, though the photo had already raised doubts.
“We had our suspicions as soon as we saw it,” officer Patrick Fox told The N&O.
When they arrived near High House Road and NW Maynard Road, their suspicions were confirmed: The “coyote” was a realistic cutout.
Animal Services said a business had placed the decoy there to discourage geese from lingering in its parking lot. Statues are among several methods property owners use to discourage geese, as The N&O reported earlier this year. The agency later posted about the mistaken wildlife call on Facebook.
In June, Carrie Whitaker noticed what looked like a black dog alone on East Cary Middle School’s baseball field. The first time, she assumed the dog belonged to someone nearby. When she saw it again, she began wondering whether it was lost or hurt. So she called the school.
Whitaker said the receptionist told her it was a fake dog used like a scarecrow to keep geese away.
Whitaker recalled the receptionist laughing and asking, “Doesn’t it always seem to be sort of in the same place?”
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“Well, yeah, come to think of it,” Whitaker remembered replying.
In North Raleigh in July, Jon Barnes said his girlfriend spotted what she thought was a loose dog in the woods and made him turn the car around to help it.
From about 200 yards away, they decided it looked more like a coyote. After watching it remain motionless for about five minutes, they began worrying it might be caught in a trap. They drove closer. It was another decoy.
In Apex last July, Geoffrey Santoliquido and his wife encountered another fake coyote near N.C. 55 and Apex Peakway while helping a gosling stranded in traffic. After they reunited it with its flock, Santoliquido said the geese were peacefully grazing about 50 yards from the decoy.
The N&O has previously reported that coyote statues and cutouts can work temporarily, but geese may eventually learn to ignore them.
Fox said Animal Services often gets coyote calls and that sightings can become more common this time of year as young coyotes born in spring become independent and range farther from their parents.
Healthy coyotes generally should be given space, Fox said, and residents should secure pets and make noise if one gets too close. Animal Services recommends calling if a coyote appears unusually aggressive, lethargic or injured, or remains in the same spot for more than 24 hours.
Whitaker’s family has even given the fake dog a name: Easton, after East Cary Middle.
“We’ll drive by and we’ll roll down the window and say, ‘Good boy, good boy,’” she said.
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This story was originally published September 25, 2026 at 5:27 PM.