It's likely you have spotted them on your streets or heard them near your home. Coyotes are not the kind of neighbors you want.
The Croft family found out the hard way.
"We did the things where you drive around in the car, call the dog's name, hang up the flyers," said West Knoxville resident Justin Croft.
For two weeks, the Croft family has searched their West Knoxville neighborhood for their dog, Bosco. So far, there's been no sign of him.
"He usually stayed within the yard and would come right to the front door if he was out," he said.
Croft doesn't believe Bosco ran away. Instead, he chalks it up to several recent sightings of coyotes in his neighborhood.
"We had seen them crossing the street and cutting through yards. Then down on George Williams [Road], they were going across a yard. I'm just surprised that coyotes are in such a residential neighborhood," he said.
TWRA Agent Roy Smith said in recent years, coyotes have moved into cities and suburbs. He said it is common to see them in your neighborhood.
"Trash, dog food, and domestic pets are easy meals for them. So it's an easier life for a coyote to live in an urban area than it is in the woods," said Smith.
While the dog species isn't native to East Tennessee, they've migrated with people.
"We have a lot more here now than we ever have and it's been a gradual migration for them eastward," Smith said.
Even though they won't hurt you, Smith said the number one danger is to small pets.
The Crofts put signs around the neighborhood warning their neighbors about the possible coyote attack so no one else will have to suffer their loss.
"We just can't believe that he's gone, that it really happened that way," said Croft.
TWRA advises keeping you're pets on leashes or at least in your sight if you've spotted coyotes in the area.