View Full Version : Traumatizing Day
mambo_tango
01-18-2007, 23:38
I was out hiking about a mile behind my house when my 8 month old dog got trapped in an unmarked coyote trap. I have never seen a trap before so I didn't know how to get it off and I couldn't just leave her there (she kept screaming and yanking at the trap and there was blood all over) so I ended up digging the pin up with a stick (I was slightly hysterical at this point). I got caught in another trap with my boot but I just shook it off. I left my pack there and picked her up and carried her about 200 yards but gave up since she weighs about 45 Ibs. So I went back to my pack and dragged out my thermarest and space blanket (she was shivering hardcore) told her to stay put and hiked up towards my house. I yelled at the top of my lungs across the pond (it is about 1/3 of a mile long) until my dad came running thru the woods and my uncle not that far behind him (my uncle was about a mile away when he heard me). Lesson learned: even though I have an excellent set of lungs a whistle would have been way better. The dog is fine.
Almost There
01-18-2007, 23:41
Glad to hear your dog is alright, that would so scare the krap out of me if it happened to any of my dogs!
that was an intense story. glad the dogs ok
mambo_tango
01-18-2007, 23:46
As a sidenote I am glad that it was my boot that got caught in the second trap and not her (since she was thrasing around so much).
Interesting story. What an adrenaline rush that must have been. So what happened to the traps ? I am sure I would have disposed of them. Were they legal ?
RAT
mambo_tango
01-19-2007, 00:15
It was probably some dumb kid trying the traps out. They are supposed to be labled with your name and address and are to be well marked (which they weren't). They were also only about three feet from the trail covered with snow. We just took the one trap (the one my dad removed from her foot) and left them snapped shut. My dad wished he could've left them a note that said: 'You didn't trap a coyote but you did trap my daughter and my dog. Idiot.'
My dad wished he could've left them a note that said: 'You didn't trap a coyote but you did trap my daughter and my dog. Idiot.'
Why didnt he ? I wouldnt have been that nice.
RAT
Jack Tarlin
01-19-2007, 00:18
Horrible story. Glad your dog will be OK.
A few quick thoughts, tho:
Was this public land?
Or private?
If it's public, you might want to look into who placed the traps and whether this was done lawfully. It was done wrongfully, the guy can be prosecuted for illegal trapping; moreover, you could recover your veterinary fees.
Of course if the traps were set and placed legally on private property, this would be another matter entirely.
In that it'd much LESS likely to encounter this problem on public land, this might be something to think about in the future when you're out with your pets.
mambo_tango
01-19-2007, 00:23
I am fairly sure that past our land is all national forest (I would have to check with my parents to be completely sure). I highly doubt I will take her back out that way.
smokymtnsteve
01-19-2007, 00:55
well it is trapping season,,,,
was ur dog running loose???
Brrrb Oregon
01-19-2007, 03:00
I learned to whistle really loudly when I was in third grade, that obnoxious piercing whistle that some people know how to do, the kind people use to make a crowd shut up so someone needing to make a general announcement can be heard.
It is extremely useful. You can't forget it at home or lose it, and it won't make you lose your voice if you do it over and over. The only thing is, I need the fingers of one hand to do it. Never been able to do it without, like my uncle can.
I hope your dog's OK.
superman
01-19-2007, 08:25
Before Christmas Pat, Winter and I were walking in a wooded area along the rail/trail. Winter had made a little bark and Pat called me to look at Winter. Winter was just standing there holding her right front paw in the air. There was a trap on it. It had a double spring on it but was able to squeeze them to open the trap. There was no trauma or damage to Winter's paw. Had she not stayed calm there would have been damage.
oldfivetango
01-19-2007, 08:35
I have shot my share of wild game.Anybody that uses traps
against wildlife is one SICK SOB imho.This is not the early 1800's
where anyone's livelyhood depends on it.And I bet you didn't
have neighbors dependent on livestock for their living that would
have a vested interest in eliminating the coyote population either.
Glad to know you and the dog are OK.And I would have left the note
your dad mentioned.Thanks for letting me sound off.
Oldfivetango
Hammock Hanger
01-19-2007, 08:48
well it is trapping season,,,,
was ur dog running loose???
You've got to be kidding, trapping is still a legal form of hunting!!
Glad your dog is okay, and that you had boots on.
hopefulhiker
01-19-2007, 10:33
I just lost my dog a few days ago.. I know how traumatizing injuries to pets can be...
A friend lost their family pet to a coyote trap. The trap was placed in a field with sheep in it. The trapper was able to accurately defend that the dog was loose in the town limits. I argue that it isn't a coyote trap. It's just a trap. It can trap a coyote or a dog or a child or a lamb. But private property so what can you do?
So, Michigan allows hunting traps, still?
most states have banned them.
just curious
otterman
01-19-2007, 11:00
Trapping is still legal in Ohio also.
as far as i know, trapping and hunting are legal on state and national FOREST (not park) lands, in season, with traps requiring proper markings and daily checking in some areas, 2 days in extreme wilderness areas where it takes 2 days just to run the line.
had a friend in HS who ran his trapline from his house right up to the school property. he set his .22 rifle behind a tree nearby, and came on to school, then ran it again on the way home. he cleared about $3-$4k a year, as a teenager, in the 80s. it was highly profitable, legal, and to the best of my knowledge, still so in NY State.
i hear 'traps are inhumane', and i hear 'my dog's ok, no serious damage'... so is it humane or not? does it matter? ask the guy who's lost 5 or 10 acres of land to beaver-induced flooding what matters more... his land, or a few beavers. the easy answer is, the beavers must go. that's a given. so would poisoning or trapping and shooting them be more humane? same applies to coyotes taking sheep, woodchucks digging in pastures (causing stock to break legs), and other situations, including 'just for the money'. if the animal species is in danger population-wise, it should be handled just like deer and fish-season limits. a look at german forestry/game harvesting practices will give you an ideal method. it's a pain in the butt for hunters, being completely counter to the american sense of freedom and 'hunting', but the average forester there can pretty much tell you down to individuals, who the animals in his area are. when they get old and sick, they're harvested. if they're young but deformed, they're culled. sort of an accelerated 'survival of the fittest'.
i'm sorry the dog was hurt. questions of legality, private vs public property, dog on leash vs not, and unmarked traps set off the trail (vs. 'on') remain in the case mentioned, and i don't really want to 'argue' any more points due to the non-specificity of it. just my 2 cents.
my best wishes for a quick recovery of the paw injury for your dog. I know your pain. I had a cat run a metal rod into its eye... my pets are my kids, I was the hysterical one...
mountain squid
01-19-2007, 13:30
OUCH!! Glad you and the dog are ok. As far as the whistles goes, make sure it is accessible to yourself. I keep a whistle on my shoulder strap. If you need it, but cant get to it...
See you on the trail,
mt squid
Oh, I forgot to comment about the whistle too... I have found that some of the newer packs are integrating a whistle into the sternum strap buckle. Kinda neat idea.
Mambo, if you send me a PM with your mailing addy, I have an extra buckle/whistle set I would send you to replace your current sternum buckle!
scothiker
01-19-2007, 13:46
I'm so sorry about that and I'm glad your dog's OK. I would pursue the answers to Jack's questions; not to minimize your dog (I love my pets too), but it could have been a child trapped.
I live in Alaska and my dog has been trapped twice... it was a terrifying experience . Up here the trappers rule and there isn't ONE place I can hike with my dogs and not be very worried about it. I can leash them but it seemed rather odd and sad that in the wildest state of them all I can't hike with my dogs and let them run free. Alot of the trails aren't marked and you have no idea what is under the snow. The laughable thing is I have a steep trail that is safe cuz they don't want to work hard enough to get up it. They, in general ,are a lazy bunch. My husband is one so I think I have a right to speak up on this... cuz i do know how it works around here. He did the right thing and cut his own line way up high.... my dogs got trapped right off the road system... anyhow, I hate too. It is heart brreaking what it does to ana animal, wild or nnot.
corentin
01-19-2007, 14:46
My brother and I grew up in those woods, we went a few thousand miles off trail around there. It's public land. I would hate to think what would have happened if we had stepped into one of those as a kid. Legality of trapping is not the issue neither is the dog, being an idiot about the way you hunt or trap is.I have seen/heard a lot of the same stuff with people hunting with guns, just stupidity and everyone gets a bad rap.
smokymtnsteve
01-19-2007, 21:33
I have shot my share of wild game.Anybody that uses traps
against wildlife is one SICK SOB imho.This is not the early 1800's
where anyone's livelyhood depends on it.And I bet you didn't
have neighbors dependent on livestock for their living that would
have a vested interest in eliminating the coyote population either.
Glad to know you and the dog are OK.And I would have left the note
your dad mentioned.Thanks for letting me sound off.
Oldfivetango
lots of folks here in AK livelehood depend on trapping,,,plus U know bullet holes lower the value of the pelt ...would U be happier if folks used snares???
nice to talk to U agin oldfive;)
mambo_tango
01-20-2007, 13:31
I would hate to think what would have happened if we had stepped into one of those as a kid.
Aww...Sis it would have just made you even shorter is all. You'd come up to my shoulder instead of my chin. :banana
- Your 'little' sister
oldfivetango
01-20-2007, 16:31
lots of folks here in AK livelehood depend on trapping,,,plus U know bullet holes lower the value of the pelt ...would U be happier if folks used snares???
nice to talk to U agin oldfive;)
Yo Steve,
If you look at the original post that prompted my comments
you will see the address is Branch,Michigan.I sorta doubt anybody
in Michigan is trapping for a living but ya never know.Had it been
an Alaska address I would not have taken the time to comment-Alaska
is a WHOLE NUTHER COUNTRY when it comes to making a living and that
does include trapping.Personally,I am surprised anyone anywhere can
make a living doing it based on the demand for fur etc.
Here in Georgia most people who have livestock are too
lazy to trap or hunt the coyote so we just buy a JACKASS and put
one or two in with the livestock-does the trick,too.No,I ain't had any
job offers to "hire out" lately,either.
That way we don't have canine pets unnecessarily injured in
traps.With regard to beavers,trapping is about the only way to get
rid of them but I surely doubt a pet dog will get caught in a beaver
trap as we all know that they are set BELOW the waterline.I love dogs!
Nice to hear from ya Steve,the good news is that MRS Tango
said today she will join me for a test romp on the AT as soon as
she retires in June.Yippee!(now I have someone to go for help if
I have another back spasm).
Cheers,
Oldfivetango