An Ontario family is left grieving after its dog Winston was caught in an animal trap and died.
Last Thursday, Elaine Antram took her daughter’s pet dog out for an off-leash walk in a private forest near Dundalk, Ont., when she heard a small yelp and saw Winston with a conibear trap clamped down around his neck.
“By the time I came back with the help, Winston was gone,” Antram told CTV Barrie.
Antram said she’s been granted permission to walk on the private property and still doesn’t know why the trap was there, or who set it. The family says they also found a second trap nearby.
Cheryl Ireland, Winston’s owner, said the past week without her four-year-old dog has been devastating.
“(My home’s) a lot cleaner now that he’s not here, but I would give anything for it to be a complete mess.”
Ireland added that she’s a hard time getting the incident out of her head, despite not being there to see it.
Both the OPP and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry are investigating the incident.
“We have no evidence at this point in time to believe they were set in such a way that they would be directed at humans,” said OPP Const. Adam Belanger.
Police say conibear traps are legal, but require a trapping licence.
In the meantime, the family says they won’t go back into the forest, fearing more traps might be out there.
With a report from CTV Barrie’s Beatrice Vaisman
