DOG DIES AFTER BEING TRAPPED; ANOTHER INJURED
WARNING: Traps in the Ninemile area west of Missoula
DOG DIES AFTER BEING TRAPPED; ANOTHER MAY LOSE HIS FOOT
One family in the Ninemile had an extremely sad start to the holiday season. A couple of weeks ago their 2 dogs went missing. It turns out they were caught in traps in the Cedar Creek area, just below the Stark Mountain trailhead. The owner has submitted their story to the Missoulian and also posted earlier on our page. Here is a summary of the incident.
Lucy, was a ten year old French Brittany, and Lily is an English mastiff puppy. The two dogs were caught in traps about a mile from their home and spent 24 hours in subzero weather, held by the foot, with no circulation. The trapper released them and reported to Fish and Game that he didn’t know where they lived…although both dogs had collars and tags. He later called and apologized for not giving them a ride home.
Lily limped home in about 4 hours after being released with a frozen paw, starving and exhausted…but Lucy was not with him. After many hours of searching by ATV, cars and horseback, nobody could find her. Three and a half days later, she finally crawled home and they found her asleep on her doggie bed. She was dehydrated, frostbitten, had widespread infection, and ended up losing her leg. After a week in the hospital she just could not overcome her injuries. As her owner said “She is in heaven now where there are no trappers.” Lily may lose part of her foot, but will survive.
In the owner’s letter to the paper, she said this trapper catches “one or two dogs a year.” She pleads with trappers to please place traps farther away from residential areas and to post signs on the roads to alert pet owners that traps are out. And if dogs are tagged with the owner’s contact information, like Lucy and Lily were, she asks trappers to consider bringing home the trapped dogs or to at least call the owners.
Our sympathies go out to this family and we appreciate their willingness to share this sad story . A special thanks to the friend that alerted us to this incident by giving a donation in Lucy’s honor.
“donation made in memory of Lucy, who spent 5 days in the frigid cold, made it home to find her bed and went to heaven in the arms of her people. Another senseless, brutal death.”
Please share this story with your friends to help raise awareness of such horrible trapping incidents.
Shared by FOOTLOOSE MONTANA.org.