An Okanagan man is cautioning local dog owners after his pup got caught in a leg-hold trap.
Fortunately, SilverStar Mountain Resort staff were nearby and willing to help Henry out of “a scary situation.”
Ethan Heckrodt was walking on a forest service road near Proctor Lake with his St. Bernard, Henry, on Thursday afternoon when the dog stepped into the trap.
“It was unmarked and covered with snow,” he said in a post to the SilverStar Community Facebook Page. “There are traps along the shoulder and in the bush which are usually marked with tape or CDs.”
For those who use the second switchback road on the way up the mountain, Heckrodt cautioned that the trap was located right on the road.
“We are very cautious of them when we’re aware of them but this one had no indications,” he said.
Heckrodt brought Henry to a veterinarian who told him Henry had not suffered any breaks or punctures, “thanks to his large bones and thick hide.”
He thanked the SilverStar search and rescue team that came to Henry’s aid, bundling him in a sled for transport after freeing his leg.
Leg-hold traps are typically used to trap and hold fur-bearing animals. The traps are banned in a large number of countries, according to the Law Library of Congress, a global research centre.
In Canada, there is no absolute prohibition on leg-hold traps but they are regulated at the provincial and federal levels. Certain types of traps are allowed for specific species, in accordance with the International Humane Trapping Standards.
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Henry the dog was caught in a leg-hold trap on a forest service road near Proctor Lake on Silver Star Mountain Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (Ethan Heckrodt/Facebook)
