A suburban St. Louis family says a coyote is responsible for the death of their two small dogs.

Debbie Rudawsky of Frontenac says her sons let the dogs out about 10:15 p.m. one night over the weekend. The dogs didn’t come back, so the family drove the neighborhood and saw them fatally wounded in a yard.

An autopsy by a veterinarian determined they had been attacked by a coyote, a determination that was based on the injuries around the neck, typical of a coyote attack.

Frontenac city officials are sending a notice to residents to watch for coyotes.