Miscellaneous > Garage Gripes

Dogs & traps

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sixball:
We went into town yesterday morning and when we got home about 2:00 pm there were no dogs to greet us. I figured they were out gathering bones or had followed some "wild" horses off for a while. Around 4 I began to worry and started calling them. It is getting dark early and there was a storm on the way. Around 4:30 I thought I could hear barking in response to my calls. I took the tractor to the saddle above the house, the closest I could get to where the barking seemed to be coming from but the wind and snow was blowing through there so hard I could not hear anything. Knowing they were over there and were not coming meat the must be caught in something. All the land over there in private even part of ours. I got in the pickup and drove around to the roads that go up that side about a two mile drive to get 1/2 mile from where I was on the tractor. By now it is getting dark and the "roads" are 4x4 trails sloppy & muddy from a couple of days of rain and beginning to mix with snow. I could hear the dogs but there is a couple of thousand steep brushy acres to search. The dogs because of their fear & stress would not always respond to my calls but I was able to locate one by 5:30 in the dark. They were both caught in illegal coyote traps a couple of hundred yards past our property line on our neighbors property. No one else lives up here. It took quite a while to get the trap off of the youngest dog's front foot and the blood rushing back into it was very painful for her and it swelled up quickly. The other dog was only 30' away but it took another half hour to find her. She had gone into a protective mode and would not make a sound. Finally the flashlight caught her eyes. She was caught by a hind foot. I got her out a little easier. I had already put the first on in the pickup she walked there pretty well. The second one was having more trouble walking and is too heavy for me to carry. I had to take a longer less steep route back to the truck but we made it. We got back to the house about 7:30 and all came in to warm up and rest. Their feet seem to be OK this morning with less swelling and warm toes and pads. They are walking well with slight limps. I think they will be OK. Several years ago one of our dogs lost a leg from a trap. I'm thankful I found them last night there is 3" of snow this morning and still coming down. It would have been a tough night for us all and a though and maybe no so happy search today.

These guys think they can trap anywhere and Nevada does not require them to put IDs on their traps anymore. They only have to check them once a week. When they use bait, which is illegal, or strong scents the prevailing winds bring the smalls here and the damn dogs follow their noses. I have two more traps in my collection of dozens and no doubt will find more when I go back to search.  Kind of funny that we are to only house near and yet in almost 50 years not one of these trappers has ever come here looking for missing traps. After the storm I'll set up a trail camera and try to get a picture of the trapper. If he is lucky I won't know him. Today I'll contact the other property owners just to make sure they have not given someone permission to trap on their property and tell them of my plan to stop it. With Coyote hides going for $50-$100 and bobcats around $150 there is a lot of incentive and because trapping in largely done in remote spots breaking the rules is easier and seldom discovered. I don't have a problem with hunting coyotes there are plenty around here.

EDNY:
That's sad to hear...sounds like the traps had offset jaws...saving the dogs feet.  Even here in NY traps must have owners ID and checked every 24hrs.  Glad they aren't using snares...which are illegal in NY.

Hope the dogs recover fully.

62131:
That's bad it could have ended worse, glad your dogs are ok.

sixball:
 Thanks guys. They have been in the house most of today sleeping. It must have really worn them out. Their feet look and feel OK with less swelling. The traps were ground with a small space between the jaws and one had an ID tag but the wildlife department can not tell me who they belong to. At least they can't set out poison anymore.

chopper526:
I'm glad to hear your dogs are ok. I don't know anything about this stuff, but can't the area be posted for no hunting, trapping, etc? Maybe that won't help anyway.

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