Keyser Söze wrote:
...a friend emailed last week that a small pack of them living in the
edge of a forest a few miles from his house came out in broad daylight
and killed his daughter's dog, who was in their backyard. He reported
that a state biologist confirmed what killed the pet, but information as
to how he reached that particular conclusion was not forwarded.
Apparently the pack of dogs has been seen a few times by neighbors.

I wonder if the dogs will take down a small child.

Probably. Around Calif is coyotes to do the most pet killing.