Dog freed from trap

COEUR d'ALENE - On Feb. 13, Shae Owens did what she does every day at her 12-acre property on the outskirts of Coeur d'Alene: went for a walk with her dog, a Labrador named Bodhi.

With them came Ben, a yellowLabrador belonging to the Owens' sister-in-law, Tolli Willhite. Both dogs were off-leash since, according to Owens, they were on her property. But the walk didn't last long before Owens heard Ben crying. The animal's leg was trapped in a non-lethal trap someone had placed on the property without Owens' permission.

Fortunately for the yellow Lab, Owens had recently read an online pamphlet on how to properly free dogs from hunting traps.

"I told my husband we better be aware of this because we are all out in the woods all the time," Owens said.

Her knowledge of how to get Ben out of the trap, coupled with the fact that the trap was of the non-lethal variety, allowed the dog to walk away from the incident unharmed.

"We're just super lucky she knew how to release him from it and it didn't do any damage," Willhite said. "It could have been much worse, but he's doing fine."

"It's sheer dumb luck that the person set up that type of trap," Owens added. "Otherwise I would be singing a different tune."

A member of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game responded to Owens' property and recovered and removed two traps. Owens said the agency handled the incident well and they were able to track down the perpetrator through registered serial numbers located on the recovered traps.

According to Owens, the perpetrator was a teenage boy who had received permission to set traps on Owens' neighbor's property. However, the boy wandered onto her property and placed two traps.

"They didn't give him a map though, because there are some defined landmarks that he would have noticed," Owens said. "I'm appalled that the neighbors didn't come and inform us they gave him permission, as a courtesy. It's the responsibility of the hunter and landowners to know and inform where the property boundaries are."

Owens will not be pressing charges against the boy, primarily, she said, because the dog was uninjured and the boy came to her to apologize for the incident.

"I liked what he had to say," Owens said. "I got to look the kid in the eye and he was apologetic."

While Owens herself does not support trapping, she said she understands that it is a part of the culture in North Idaho.

"There are people making their living on this and it's not my place to judge them," Owens said. "But I think based on the fact that the dog got out without any injuries, it says that's the type of trap to use."