Cleopatra is dead, slain by a coyote, and Rye’s entire Osborn Retirement Community is in mourning.

Cleopatra, 10, was the beloved miniature poodle of Osborn resident Judith Steers, 80, a retired interior decorator.

Cleopatra died Wednesday around 10 p.m. after Steers let Cleo out for a late night romp that was to be her last.

Steers heard a terrible cry of pain and anguish, “just like a human,” she said. And when she went outside, Cleo was dead, her neck broken, her body bloodied.

Rye Police were summoned,  but the coyote fled, according to reports.

Steers was grieving for Cleo, as the news about her loss swept the Osborn campus at 101 Theall Road.

“Cleo was such a wonderful dog, an absolutely marvelous dog and a loyal, loving friend,” Steers told Patch. “Everybody at the Osborn loved her. Especially me. Cleo was so very special.  We were very close. And what happened to her was tragic. Especially since she may have been attacked by coyotes twice in the last few days.”

On Saturday night, for example, Steers let Cleo out for her usual 10 p.m night run, a run that was punctuated by what sounded like what Steers called “a tormented human scream, a cry for help,” from Cleo. When Steers went outside to investigate, she found Cleo hiding, quivering and crying behind a bush.

“She was hurt, poor girl, and when I looked closely, there was blood on her neck,” Steers recalled.

Steers brought the dog inside, gave her some milk and a cookie, nursed her to sleep and let her rest all day Sunday. On Monday, she took Cleo to the veterinarian. She had extensive neck injuries, and Steers told the doctor she believed a coyote had caused the wounds. The veterinarian said he couldn’t be sure, but Steers said she was almost certain it was a coyote who had attacked Cleopatra.

Steers said Cleopatra was attacked again on Wednesday.

“Then last night it happened again. Cleopatra wanted to go out for her night run.  I could hear howling outside. And I didn’t want her to go. So I gave Cleo her milk and cookies instead," she said. "But she still wanted to go out, so I let her go for her ‘wet’ run. And then there it was, Cleo’s  painful, tormented, almost human cry once again. It was terrible to hear."

Steers said Cleo's screams died down and that she saw the coyotes running away. She then called the police. She saw that Cleo's neck was broken and that the dog was bloodied.

Steers said Cleo is now buried behind her residence at the Osborn, but that she is very concerned about the coyotes. 

“I want to alert people that the coyotes are out there, and they shouldn’t go out walking at night," she said.

Steers, a retired decorator from Massapequa, Long Island who has lived at the Osborn for three years, said she is concerned about the dangers coyotes pose to residents, especially children who attend the nearby Osborn School. 

"For Cleo’s sake, I want to alert them to the danger. I can’t do anything about Cleopatra now, but I am going to miss her.”