A family pet is recovering after near strangulation after being caught in a wildlife trap in northern Maple Ridge, Sunday morning.
Nina Gardner had just finished giving Sage her breakfast outside and went to call her in, only to find that Sage had wandered off.
She went out looking for him and after a few minutes, heard a faint, but deep, whining noise. She kept following the noise but couldn鈥檛 locate it. She thought about giving up and almost went back home, but decided to keep searching. She eventually found Sage in the carport of a neighbouring property.
鈥淚 looked down, and there鈥檚 my dog.
鈥淪he was caught in this trap and totally immobilized, limp, dead on the floor, it looked like,鈥� Gardner said on Monday. Her dog wasn鈥檛 struggling or trying to escape but was lying still on the floor, with the jaws of the trap clamped around her neck, unable to move.
鈥淚t was just a fluke that I found her.鈥�
It took an agonizing several minutes before the resident who set the trap was on site. It took him and Gardner鈥檚 husband and brother in law to pry loose the jaws of the trap.
Sage was lucky to make it through with just bruises.
B.C. Conservation officer Sgt. Todd Hunter said an investigation is ongoing into the incident but couldn鈥檛 confirm details. But people don鈥檛 have to worry that there are other traps out there that could snare other dogs.
鈥淚t was an isolated incident.鈥�
But he warned dog owners that residents can lawfully set wildlife traps on their property, though he couldn鈥檛 say what these particular circumstances are. 鈥淭he intent was not for dogs. There was an attempt to capture raccoons.鈥�
Dogs off leash can end up in lawfully set traps, he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always best to ensure your pets are not wandering off to other people鈥檚 property.鈥�
Gardner accepts that her dog shouldn鈥檛 have been loose but is upset the homeowner took too long to respond.
There are legal trapping seasons for raccoons and exemptions for trapping raccoons if they鈥檙e causing property damage, Hunter pointed out.
He said that area of Maple Ridge is often used by residents for releasing raccoons that they have been trapped in other parts of Maple Ridge.
But instead, people who have raccoon problems should call a pest-control company to remove them.
The best thing is to prevent raccoons from coming on to your property in the first place by removing food attractants.
