Coyote Hung Out Poolside During A Power Outage In Ottawa & It Started A Meme (PHOTOS)

One Ottawa woman is sharing some serious laughs after an unexpected visitor hung out at her poolside over the weekend.

In an edited Facebook cover photo, a wet creature is seen sporting sunglasses with a flamingo pool floaty and a cocktail. But the joke started after a bit of an ordeal on May 28.

It was a noisy wake-up call for Nicole Van De Wolfshaar on Saturday morning. She was getting ready to put her morning coffee pot on the barbeque, following Ottawa's storm power outage, when she heard a familiar sound.

Crows started cackling at a predator but she wasn't sure what kind.

"I hear it all the time," Van De Wolfshaar told Narcity. "When they're in the area you know there's something in the backyard."

Maybe it's a fox, she mused to herself, since the creatures sometimes visit her backyard. Other times dogs wander onto her property. That's when she saw it.

"We made eye contact," Van De Wolfshaar says. It was a coyote and it was hanging onto the ledge of her inground pool.

To Van De Wolfshaar, the creature looked tired. She says she talked to it in hopes of coaxing it out of the pool by taking the steps in the pool's shallow end.

"I thought, he just looks like, 'I'm either drowning here or this human is gonna get me out and that's how I imagined the one photo where I really got in close on his eyes," she said. "I didn't feel afraid. I just felt concerned because he seemed under so much stress."

After about 20 minutes, and nonstop commentary from crows, Van De Wolfshaar says she saw the coyote pass through the cedars on her fence line.

It's not the only surprise backyard visitor

According to Van De Wolfshaar, there is at least one coyote that frequents her Glabar Park neighbourhood. Neighbours sometimes remark on seeing it around their properties.

"This is the first time I had an uninvited creature in the pool." So, she shared her photos in a neighbourhood Facebook group. "People were like, 'it was a nice distraction.'"

Edited photo of coyote in the pool. Nicole Van De Wolfshaar | Facebook

Someone made a joke and responded, "Looks like they need a poolside drink." The jest took off from there.

At the time Van De Wolfshaar shared her post, she and others in Glabar Park were without power. It was after the May 21 derecho storm that rolled through the province. About 180,000 hydro users in Ottawa were without power immediately after the storm, according to Hydro Ottawa.

Neighbours were posting about how they were charging their devices and where they were going to access the internet.

Racoons on a trampoline.Nicole Van De Wolfshaar | Facebook

On May 30, Van De Wolfshaar shared a video to the Facebook group of raccoons running around on her trampoline.

"Never a dull moment in our backyard, it seems! At least someone uses the trampoline," she wrote.

A neighbour responded jokingly, "I assume you are going to declare your backyard a "Wildlife Park" and charge admission? "

Now, Van De Wolfshaar has power again. In the future, however, she says she'll be keeping a closer eye out on her backyard for the sake of her two cats.