MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — A coyote attacked a family dog in front of two young children in a Marietta neighborhood.

WSB-TV (http://bit.ly/1ETZjME ) reports the attack happened Monday afternoon near the Kennesaw National Battlefield Park, feet away from a 5 and 3-year-old girls. The girls' mother, Courtenay Wall, says they were playing at a nearby creek after school when the incident occurred.

The dog was rushed to the vet, where doctors tended to its injuries. The dog received stitches in eight places and was fitted for a cone collar until they heal.

Wall says there is a coyote den a few hundred yards behind their house and she can hear them howling at night.

Experts say coyotes will mostly avoid humans.

___