A pack of coyotes chasing after a puppy broke several panes of glass in the door of a home in a suburb of Chicago Friday as they tried to chase the dog into the house.

"I've never seen anything quite like this," Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said of the attack on South Herbert Road, Riverside, about a mile from the Des Plaines River.

Dog owner Roger Nelson said it was about 4 a.m. when he let his three dogs -- a beagle, a golden retriever and a German shepherd puppy -- out into the yard.

He said his pups barely made it out of the door when the pack of coyotes came charging.

The coyotes -- Nelson said there were four of them -- came from the bushes and easily cleared a fence.

"That's about a three-and-a-half foot fence. I mean, they jumped it, no issues at all," he said.

Nelson said he hurried the dogs back inside. They made it, but the coyotes didn't let up.

"[They were] just standing up on their back as they were clawing at the door, and then the two older [dogs] I got, they were snarling back at them and growling," he said.

The coyotes were finally scared away when Nelson fired a high-powered BB gun at them, striking two of them, police said. Nelson's dogs were unharmed.

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The attack left a lot of damage to the door. Several panes of glass of an outer door were broken, as was the glass on the main entry door.

Police Sgt. Bill Gutschick said in a statement that in his 25 years on duty, this was the first time he’s heard of coyotes trying to get into a home while chasing a pet.

Riverside has had other recent reports of coyotes attacking pets, Weitzel said, and on Jan. 3, a 7-month-old Bichon-Poo puppy was killed in the 100 block of Addison Road.

Weitzel urged residents to be aware of wild animals in the area.

"Coyotes do not know the difference between pets and the wild creatures they hunt, so try to protect pets by accompanying them outdoors," he said.

And use a short leash, he said.

Two wild coyotes were spotted hanging around Chicago’s Wrigley Field late Saturday night.

Will Byington was photographing a live band at the Cubby Bear entertainment complex when the doormen reported that a couple of coyotes were outside the stadium.

Byington, armed with his camera, and a couple of employees headed outside to investigate.

"The scary thing is that they didn't seem afraid. You'd think they'd be cowering, but they didn't seem vicious," Byington said.

“Some people were laughing, and started following them, but they didn't seem concerned. They seemed to be checking out the neighborhood and enjoying it,” he added.

Growing population
Byington said the coyotes looked to be fairly young and guesses that they were looking for food.

At least judging by their fascination with the McDonald's on the other side of Clark Street. He said the coyotes hung out for a couple of minutes before walking through the players’ parking lot and toward a nearby firehouse.

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"First time I've ever seen it," said Byington, who lives in Wrigleyville. "You hear stories about them venturing out and spotted around parks and whatnot, but they were right in the street with cars zooming by and honking. It didn't seem to faze them."

Research suggests the coyote population in suburban Chicago is growing.

NBCChicago.com: Chihuahua owner fends off coyotes

Earlier this month, an Antioch Chihuahua survived an attack by two coyotes. Earlier this year, a 16-pound dog was attacked in a fenced in yard in Wheaton but survived.

An attack a week before that, was fatal. And a coyote also made it all the way down to a Loop Metra station last year.

NBCWashington.com: Fairfax warns residents about coyotes

A recent Ohio State University study estimated that there may be somewhere between several hundred and a couple thousand coyotes living in Chicago, with some of the animals living in city parks and others among apartment and commercial buildings and in industrial parks.