Pet owners beware: Snares trap 2 dogs on Torbay trail

A Torbay man is warning dog owners to keep their pets on a leash after he found two beagles trapped in a snare early Friday morning.

Alex Chafe said he heard howling around his house on Evenings Path around 2 a.m. Friday, and went to see if he could find the source of the sound.

"I tried to track them but couldn't find them, so first thing this morning I went out to try and see where they were."

Chafe said he found two small dogs with wires like a noose around their necksabout four of five metres off a trail.

'Not totally responsive'

"There was one dog that was inhard shape. The snare had really tightened around this guy'sneck," Chafe said."The second dog he was in better shape but he was pretty spooked."

The snares had one wire tightly around a pure-breed beagle's neck, but two wires had trapped a second beagle-cross.

"The beagle,he was in pretty bad shape. He was was not totally responsive and he had a snare really tight around his neck," he said.

"The second dog [was caught in] two snares, but luckily for him they weren't quite as tight."

He called TorbayAnimal Control, which he said showed up within a short period of time and freed the dogs.

They were then taken to a vet.

Chafe said the snares were set just off a popular walking trail. He said he wants other owners to be vigilant.

"It would only take my dog getting off the leash or me dropping the leash [and]he could be into the woods and caught in a snare in seconds."

Torbay Mayor Ralph Tapper told CBC News the dogs are expected to make a full recovery, and one has been released from the vet.