Missoula dog caught in Miller Creek trap
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) A Missoula dog owner is urging others to be cautious if they allow their dogs to run along public-land roads.
On the first weekend of December, Missoula resident Alice Bailey took advantage of the lack of snow to walk her two dogs on a Miller Creek road. Just past the U.S. Forest Service boundary, Plant Creek Road is a familiar route, and Bailey had no concerns as she watched her pit bull, Peppa, scamper down to the creek for a drink. Then she heard Peppa scream.
Panicked, Bailey, followed by her other little dog, ran down to where Peppa was still screaming and thrashing. It took a moment, and then Bailey realized Peppa was caught in a trap. As the pit bull continued to struggle, Bailey grew more scared when she saw blood coming out of Peppa’s mouth. She would later discover that Peppa had bit through her tongue several times.
Bailey didn’t know what to do.
“It was a leg-hold trap - terrifying. I had my little dog with me too, and he has tiny little legs. I feel like if his leg had been in that, it would have been a different story. (Peppa) is pretty thickly built, but she was just screaming and railing against it,” Bailey said. “I was by myself. So I had to leave her there, which was awful. I got in my car and drove to where I’d seen people. They knew what to do so they came back with me.”
The good samaritans were able to spring the trap, and Bailey bundled Peppa into the car and rushed her to the vet. The vet said that in the past, other dogs had suffered terrible injuries, but Peppa was lucky with no broken bones.
Later, Bailey called Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to report the incident. Two wardens went to the site and found the trap. Since it was a minimum of 50 feet off the road, the trap was legal, and the wardens told Bailey they’d contact the trapper so he could reset the trap.
“I said to them, ‘Wow, 50 feet isn’t very far,’ and the Fish and Wildlife guy agreed,” Bailey said. “I was walking the Forest Service road, and it’s well-used. I’ve seen people walk the road a lot with dogs. I’ve seen older couples in side-by-sides with their dogs running behind them. I just want to get the message out there that people are setting traps really close to where people are getting Christmas trees and hiking.”
Montana furbearer trapping season started on Nov. 1 for otter, muskrat and mink, and on Dec. 1 for bobcat, marten and fisher. Traps must be a minimum of 50 feet away from the edge of roads or trails, unless they’re closed to motor vehicles year-round, and then no setback is required.
The wolf season in Western Montana starts on Jan. 1 and the setback from roads or trails for wolf traps is 150 feet, except in Ravalli County. During the Nov. 12 FWP commission meeting, Commissioner Jeff Burrows created an exception of no setbacks for traps from all but four popular roads in Ravalli County.
In a Dec. 10 letter to the Bitterroot Star, Stevensville veterinarian Linda Kauffman expressed disappointment over Burrow’s exception and asked trappers or FWP to provide warning of where traps are set.
“As a practicing veterinarian in Ravalli County for more than 30 years, I have seen my share of traumatic injuries to dogs and other domestic animals from traps and poisonings intended for predators and fur-bearing game,” Kauffman wrote. “Until now I have remained silent, but this decision prompts me to speak out. There is a growing number of outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy hiking, skiing and snowshoeing with their animal companions in every corner of State and Federal land in Ravalli County. This change threatens their safety, just so trappers won’t have to walk to their traps a slightly longer distance from the popular public trails and areas.”
The problem is it’s difficult to find information on the most recent wolf season regulations because little is posted on the FWP website. The FWP commission had to approve changes to the wolf season that conformed with a court order, but their Nov. 12 meeting occurred after most trapping regulations were approved. So last year’s regulations are online, but none of the recent changes have been posted.
KC York of Trap Free Montana said FWP is not complying with the court order.
“Despite Trap Free Montana's repeated efforts since (Dec. 2), Montana FWP has failed to provide the 2024-2025 wolf and other trapping regulations on the website. This includes a new map for wolf trapping dates the 1st Monday after Thanksgiving, for what parts of the state, and the dates for the wolf trapping and snaring elsewhere,” York wrote on the Trap Free Montana Facebook page. “In the rest of the state, not identified on the FWP website, wolf trapping per the court order and settlement is supposed to be Jan. 1 - Feb. 15.”
Due to the changing regulations and lack of public information, many dog owners remain unaware of the potential danger along Ravalli County backroads. Bailey said she knew nothing until people told her after Peppa’s run-in with a trap.
“We got our Christmas tree in the Bitterroot up Big Creek off a Forest Service road. I guess we’re lucky our dogs didn’t get trapped down there,” Bailey said.