Charlie the coyote owes his life to a whim.
A worker with Wyoming Wildlife Services was tasked with killing coyotes that had attacked sheep, but he had an odd compulsion to save one of the pups. Though he didn't fully understand why he did it, he handed the 10-day-old coyote pup to Shreve Stockton to raise. Stockton, a writer and photographer, took Charlie in — and how could she not, after looking at this tiny face?
What happened next is a story of trust, an unbreakable loving bond formed with the "enemy," and the beginning of a daily story told in photos to fans across the Internet. (Text: Jaymi Heimbuch)
"Now, on my second day with the coyote, soft light filled the cabin in the early afternoon. I nestled him between two pillows and dug around under my bureau for my camera," Stockton writes in her book, "The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Trust and Survival in the Wilds of Wyoming."
"Charlie and Eli were deep into their brotherhood," Stockton writes of Charlie bonding to his tomcat friend. "On every walk, they stopped under a busy weed and crouched together, eating the tender grass that grew beneath it." It's not very common that people allow coyotes anywhere near their cats, but this pup had only love for the orange tabby.