April 12, 1999 Kalispell, MI Buddy was on a trail in the Flathead National Forest when he encountered a Conibear 220 trap with raw chicken parts. Buddy died when his caregiver was unable to pry the trap off his neck. When neighbors showed up to help, they were too late. Ironically, a yellow Labrador retriever had been caught on the same trapline only 6 days before, but was lucky enough to be released quickly by his caregiver. Dog
December 27, 1998 Indianola, WA A woman was walking her dog at the public beach when her dog ran under a nearby house and was caught in Conibear trap set for otter. No fences separated the beach from the house and no signs were posted. The residents of the house removed the traps after the incident. Dog
December 1, 1998 Catskill Mountains, Green County, NY A dog was found dead in a leghold trap. The dog had been trapped “maybe a day or two.” The incident was reported. The trap owner was not found. Dog
November 4, 1998 MN Department of Natural Resources Officer found Terry deep in the woods, dragging a steel-jaw leghold trap from his hind toe. Other
June 20, 1998 Enumclaw, WA Humane Officer Joe Hunt received a call about a dog, trapped and drowning in the middle of the White River. Fearing he would never make it in time, he sped the 30 miles to Enumclaw, where he was forced to leave his van at the end of a dirt road and dash over a mile through the woods to reach the helpless dog. When Joe reached the river’s edge, he saw a black and gray dog with large panicked eyes looking up at him from the glacier-fed waters. Without hesitation, Joe went into the water. “I held onto the bank with one hand and felt under the water around the dog’s back legs. That’s when I found the [beaver] trap,” Joe said. “It was chained to the river bottom.” Joe worked to free Jake by trying to cut the chain. Joe fought the current and the numbing cold, making many trips to the river bottom to cut at the trap. Finally he was able to cut through the chain and bring the exhausted dog up onto the bank. “He wouldn’t have made it much longer. He would have drowned when his strength gave out.” Dog
March 11, 1998 Barnsfield , NY The trap was only 14 feet off the road, a short distance from Russell’s home. Dog