An Iowa man is trying regain custody of a young coyote that he says has become his emotional support animal.

Matthew Stokes told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier that Drifter is a youngster who was left by a coyote family that had dug a den this past spring in his backyard on the outskirts of Waterloo. Stokes was suffering from a bone infection in a foot and was in danger of losing it. He says Drifter kept him going.

The pup was corralled by a neighbor while roaming the area and placed with a wildlife rehabilitation agency. Stokes is considering seeking a federal license to keep a dangerous animal.