TOPSHAM — A dog was able to walk home with its owner after being freed Sunday morning from a coyote trap that had been set along the Central Maine Power right-of-way in Topsham, according to police.
The silver labrador had been on a walk with its owner near Route 201 at about 11 a.m. when it stepped into the metal trap, Sgt. Mark Gilliam of the Topsham Police Department said later that day. The woman couldn’t free her dog and called for help.
“She panicked, saying the dog was trapped,” he said.
Crew members from the Topsham Fire Department arrived first with an ATV and were able to help her free her dog from the coyote trap, Gilliam said. The trap does not have teeth, but instead is designed to fold up and catch the leg of an animal and prevent it from retreating or pulling away.
“It holds the animal until the trapper comes along and euthanizes the animal,” he said.
This particular trap was set by a trapper yesterday and since has been relocated to another area, according to Gilliam. Early coyote trapping season began on Oct. 20 and ended over the weekend. The statewide trapping season began Nov. 3 and runs until Dec. 31. Trappers are required to check their traps every day.
“I got the trap and turned it over to the Maine Warden Service,” Gilliam said. “The trapper was more than cooperative. It’s one of those unfortunate instances where dog and trap meet.”
An 84-year-old bird hunter had to shoot and kill his dog in October in York County after it got stuck in a trap set in rural Newfield. The mixed-breed dog got scared, bit his owner and wouldn’t let him go, the Portland Press Herald reported on Oct. 25.
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