Seconds later, Poletti runs back out the door, followed by the canine.
Poletti said he was alerted to the coyote's presence when it brushed against his leg and growled.
"It was pretty startling," he told The Post and Courier newspaper. "I got the impression it was as freaked-out as I was."
"When it brushed by my leg and turned around you could see clearly it was a coyote or a wolf. It kind of bared its teeth and started growling and right then I knew it was a coyote," Poletti told WTVD-TV.
The doctor said he jangled his keys to distract the coyote so he could flee back out the door.
"I was thinking, 'I don't want him to bite me on the hand because I'm a surgeon,'" he said.
He said the coyote only followed him outside for about 10 feet before breaking off to chase a squirrel. He said the animal remained on the grounds for about 10 minutes.
Police referred Poletti to city animal control, which told the doctor he could hire a private trapper.
Mayor Linda Page its common practice for authorities to refer residents with coyote complaints to private trappers. She said she would discuss the incident with her staff.
"Coyotes entering buildings. How scary is that?" she said. "If there's any kind of danger to human life we're going to take it seriously."
