Arizona Woman Notices A ‘Coyote’ On Her Patio, Then Realizes It’s Not What She Thought

Living so close to Arizona’s desert, Meredith Warfel often sees all sorts of wildlife passing through.

But one day, she looked out and saw a mysterious animal standing on her patio with prickly cacti stuck all over its coat.

At first glance, it looked like a coyote. Naturally, Meredith and her family didn’t know what to think. Was it dangerous? Or… was it just exhausted?

The shaggy visitor kept coming back night after night. But there was nothing aggressive about her. She wasn’t growling or pacing like a coyote might.

Instead, she curled up quietly on their patio furniture, looking more scared than fierce, like she was hoping she’d found a safe place to rest.

Hoping for answers, Meredith snapped a photo and posted it online. Everyone kept saying the same thing: “That’s a coyote!”

But something about that didn’t feel right to her. Coyotes don’t usually lounge on patio cushions like that.

Meredith couldn’t shake the feeling that this animal wasn’t wild at all. She looked lost, not feral. And she was right.

Turns out, the “coyote” was actually a dog. She had no collar, no tags, and no microchip.

Meredith figured she had likely been dumped somewhere near a hiking trail and had wandered around until she found their backyard, hoping someone would finally notice her.

The Warfel family brought her to a local shelter in case someone might be looking for her. But days went by, and no one came.

They kept visiting the sweet pup, now called Luna. And with each visit, Luna seemed to bloom a little more.

Realizing that a special bond had already been born, the Warfels decided to welcome Luna into her home for good.

Today, she’s healthy, happy, and completely at home. She’s best friends with the family’s cats and kids.

She fits right in just perfectly, as Meredith shared in a YouTube video:

“She’s healthy she’s well-nourished and she does think that she’s one of the kids which she is…”

Besides her favorite games of fetch and frisbee, Luna has claimed her spot as the poolside queen.

She loves nothing more than lounging on a floating raft, while the kids splash and play nearby.

Luna’s heart is full, and just being near the ones she loves is all she needs, as Meredith put it:

“I think she just wants to be around the family so she can watch us and be a part of all the fun, and we just love our little Luna and having her hang out with us all the time.”

For Luna, there’s no better place than right here, sharing happy moments with her family.